Brainfood, a D.C.-based nonprofit, and the local teens from its after-school culinary program are working with White House chefs to prepare food for President Obama’s 4th of July picnic, which will honor our nation’s military and their families.
Invited by the First Lady’s office, nearly twenty Brainfood teens are showing off their kitchen skills at the White House. The Brainfood teens are assisting White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford, Assistant White House Chef Sam Kass, Pastry Chef Bill Yosses and Assistant Pastry Chef Susie Morrison and their staffs to prepare a July 4th barbeque for more than 1,200 active military and their families, including veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. To assist the chefs, the youth will spend several days this week preparing vegetables, shucking corn and harvesting herbs from the White House garden.
“Our young people come from some of Washington’s poorest neighborhoods and preparing food for the President of the United States, his family and guests is an honor and privilege they could never have imagined, but not surprisingly, they were fully up to the task,” said Paul Dahm, executive director of Brainfood. “There is no other program like Brainfood in the area and we hope to expand our reach not only to serve more of our city’s youth, but young people across the country to show them what’s possible when they dream big.”
Brainfood uses food and cooking as tools to teach young people about healthy eating, empower them to make smart choices and encourage them to embrace new experiences and life skills, such as the ability to cook. Brainfood enrolls approximately 125 D.C. high school students each year in after-school and summer programs that include classes ranging from kitchen safety to international cuisine.
Taking its cue from the White House garden, Brainfood will begin its own vegetable garden this summer to encourage its teenage participants to understand better where their food comes from. Brainfood’s programs are in high demand and the organization is forced to turn away more than half of its applicants because of limited funding.