Euphoria Launches Healthy Lunchtime Throwdown
Sterling School 3rd and 4th graders are excited about entering the Kids in the Kitchen cooking contest for a chance to have their own recipe become a menu item in GCS cafeterias.
Boys can cook too! We hope these adorable students will enter a recipe for consideration in the Kids in the Kitchen Healthy Lunchtime Throwdown Challenge contest @AchieveEuphoria.
Brianna Shaw, Executive Director of #achieveeuphoria, kicked off the Kids in the Kitchen cooking contest, encouraging students at Sterling School to enter their own recipe. Finalists will compete at the euphoria festival in September, where they will cook alongside world -famous chefs.
Luke Westrol, front center, was the lucky winner of a field trip for his class to Mill Village Farms in Greenville. His third grade class and teacher Christy Guth will visit Mill Village Farms, where fresh, local produce is grown on vacant properties that have been transformed into farms.
Dan Weidenbenner, Executive Director of Mill Village Farms, gives students a small container of planted seeds to give them a chance to grow their own food.
Sterling School 3rd and 4th graders are excited about entering the Kids in the Kitchen cooking contest for a chance to have their own recipe become a menu item in GCS cafeterias.
Euphoria Launches First Kids in the Kitchen: Healthy Lunchtime Throwdown for South Carolina's Largest School District
For the first time in its ten-year history, euphoria will celebrate the skills and culinary achievements of Greenville’s young chefs by hosting the first annual Kids in the Kitchen: Healthy Lunchtime Throwdown contest.Open to all Greenville County Schools students between the ages of 8 and 12, the recipe and cooking contest allows district students from across the area to submit their original, healthy, affordable and delicious recipes online at www.euphoriagreenville.com/kidsrecipe now through May 29. The winner, who will be selected at a special cook-off event during euphoria on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015, will win a prize package from LiveWell Greenville, Tupelo Honey Café and Mill Village Farms and have his or her recipe added to the Greenville County Schools menu during the 2015-2016 school year.
The euphoria contest is modeled after First Lady Michelle Obama’s Healthy Lunchtime Challenge and Kids’ State Dinner, an annual event sponsored by pbs.org that promotes healthy eating and healthy lifestyles for children across the United States.
“Greenville County Schools is dedicated to providing fresh, healthy meals each day during the school year to the district’s nearly 72,000 students, and we encourage kids to take an active role in making healthy food choices year-round,” said Joe Urban, director of Greenville County Schools Food and Nutrition Services. “This contest provides a phenomenal opportunity to help children across our community understand the importance of balanced nutrition -- not to mention the fact that cooking and eating healthy can be fun and rewarding,” added Urban.
Judges of the contest include Tanya Steele, founder of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge and Kids’ State Dinner in conjunction with First Lady Michelle Obama, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Let’s Move! Steele is also Director of the Julia Child Foundation, founding editor of epicurious.com and former editor of Bon Appetit. At euphoria, Steele will be joined by celebrity chefs Curtis Duffy and David Kinch – from Michelin-starred restaurants in Chicago and San Francisco -- along with “star” chefs from schools across the district to judge the top recipes submitted for the contest.
“Challenging kids and their parents to take an interest in what they eat, to choose healthy ingredients and focus on healthy meal preparation provides an opportunity to educate and shift perceptions,” said Steele. “The goal of this contest as well as the national Healthy Lunchtime Challenge is not only to enhance understanding of the benefits of healthy eating and healthy lifestyles, but to also make America’s kids true stakeholders in their own health and nutrition for a lifetime.”
Entrants of the first annual Kids in the Kitchen: Healthy Lunchtime Throwdown contest are required to submit original recipes that adhere to My Plate guidelines, are healthy, delicious and economical. Based on these criteria, finalists will be selected by a panel of local judges in June 2015 and will be announced in August 2015. These finalists will participate in a live cook off – which is the first kids’ event in euphoria’s ten-year history – on Sept. 20, 2015.
About euphoria
This year, euphoria celebrates its 10th year as one of the country’s premier food, wine and music festivals, September 17 – 20, 2015 (www.EuphoriaGreenville.com; @AchieveEuphoria). What began in 2006 as a one-day festival highlighting Greenville, SC’s culture, depth of talent and outstanding revitalized downtown, now draws more than 6,000 people from 30 states and multiple countries for a four-day weekend featuring nationally acclaimed chefs, celebrity singers and songwriters, craft brewers, Master Sommeliers, and unique luxury experiences. Proceeds from euphoria Food, Wine & Music Festival benefit charitable organizations that focus on providing sustenance to those in need, educating through music, and supporting children in need across the Upstate of South Carolina.