Food and nutrition education can empower children to make healthy choices throughout their lives, but most schools do not incorporate food education into their curricula. TheCenters for Disease Control and Prevention found that elementary school students in the United States receive, on average, just 3.4 hours of food and nutrition education each year.

With one-third of children and adolescents in the U.S. considered overweight or obese, food education cannot be left to food industry marketing. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission found that the food industry spends nearly $2 billion dollars per year marketing to children; 73 percent of that marketing promotes food and beverages that are high in sugars and fats, yet low in recommended nutrients.

To counteract this unhealthy messaging, many organizations around the globe are working to instill healthy eating habits, foster food literacy, teach culinary skills, and educate children about the environmental, social, and health consequences of their food choices. Food Tank has selected 35 particularly noteworthy programs.

Ciades Sem Fome (São Paulo, Brazil): Ciades Sem Fome (Cities Without Hunger) transforms São Paulo’s unused land into community gardens, school gardens, and agricultural greenhouses to improve the diets and health of local communities. Their School Gardens Project provides children in deprived regions of São Paulo with healthy food and nutrition education. The organization has built 38 school gardens in public schools and estimates they have reached nearly 15,000 children with their food and gardening education.
2.Common Threads (United States): Millions of low-income children do not know how to choose or cook nutritious foods. Common Threads is dedicated to changing that by providing cooking and nutrition programs to underserved communities across the U.S. They are committed to preventing childhood obesity while also celebrating food culture. Common Threads takes a hands-on, family-centered approach to providing education on nutrition, healthy eating, sustainability, and garden development.
3.Counterpart International (Cameroon): Since 2012, Counterpart International’s Food for Education program has connected local governments, schools, parents, communities, and nonprofit organizations in Cameroon to improve the health of students through food education. In addition to distributing nutritious meals to schools, they promote the value of healthy eating, build school gardens, and provide participants with food and health education. Since the implementation of their program, they have produced 172 metric tons of food in their gardens, reached more than 500,000 people with school meals and education, and increased school attendance among girls.
4.Cultiva Ciudad (Mexico City, Mexico): Based in Mexico City, this urban agriculture organization operates school garden programs in schools throughout the city. They teach urban gardening skills and provide food education to at-risk youth. In addition, they collaborate with Centro de Autismo Teletón to operate a therapeutic sensory garden for children on the autism spectrum. The therapeutic garden connects these children with nature and delivers basic food and environmental education.
5.The Curriculum of Cuisine (Portland, Oregon, United States): The Curriculum of Cuisine provides rigorous education on culinary skills and food justice to children in Portland, Oregon. Before establishing their program in a school, they meet with teachers to learn about the academic culture of the students. They then invite chefs into the classrooms to provide hands-on lessons in conjunction with standard academic subjects. For instance, the chefs may join a typical language arts class and work with students to connect their reading and writing to culinary experiences. Alternatively, they may visit a natural science class and incorporate gardening skills into the lesson. This integrative approach seeks to enhance student interest and engagement in food and nutrition.
6.Edible Garden City (Singapore): Edible Garden City is working to spread the “Grow Your Own Food” movement to Singapore, where land is scarce and people are highly dependent on imports. In addition to working with residents to maintain food gardens, they help schools establish gardens and teach students to grow their own food. They focus on sustainable growing methods, recycling, waste minimization, and nutrition education. Edible Garden City tailors the curriculum to each school and its particular culture; they believe children are more likely to eat their vegetables if they grow them and take ownership of them.
the health and nutrition of students.



http://agricnation.com/35-food-education-organizations/