TV Chef Candice Kumai Cooks Dinner with Kids at the Community FoodBank

by Alice Magdziak • October 26, 2011 • Events • Comments (0) • 1873

I attended a National Pasta Association (NPA) event tonight at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Hillside with television chef Candice Kumai (also known as the Stiletto Chef) and kids from Newark’s St. James AME Inter Generational After School Program. The event was part of their Pasta Fits program to promote pasta as a delicious and nutritious meal option to fight hunger.

The NPA donated a large amount of pasta products to the FoodBank who feeds many groups of underprivileged kids from Boys and Girls Clubs, churches and other charitable organizations through their Kids Cafe programs. Everyone involved in today’s event seemed very pleased at how it went and all the kids were adorable.

Chef Kumai started out with the kids sitting at tables talking to them about healthy food options. Once they went through the things that they would be cooking with, the kids were called up to the kitchen area to watch Candice finish her pasta dish. An amazing thing happened while the kids were up there. We found out that they knew about vegetables! They were identifying everything Candice held up and even talked about veggies that weren’t present. When asked what vegetables they liked, I heard answers like broccoli and collard greens. Wow!

Once the kids saw what Candice made, they went back to their seats and made their own pasta dishes using the same ingredients that Chef Kumai did. Once again, the kids were amazing because they were well-behaved and attentive to the other kids sitting at their tables. I’ve seen so many groups of kids get completely out of control in the blink of an eye and these kids were great!

Hunger is a community problem and we’re all responsible for making sure that all the kids in our nation are fed. So, when you give money to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, remember that these are the kinds of kids that you’re feeding.

Check out more pics from my visit to the FoodBank: