Integrating Kids Feeding Kids Into Your Curriculum

It’s never too early to help students learn life skills and the value of helping others. Kids Feeding Kids teaches students about food insecurity and sustainability. The program partners with high school culinary arts classes to prepare take-home meals for families and organizations within their communities — and students build skills and empathy in the process.

Pete’s Garden is the parent organization of Kids Feeding Kids. It was created in 2020 by Tamara Weber, who is dedicated to making sure more Kansas City families have access to healthy, nourishing foods. Pete’s Garden focuses on recovering surplus food from Kansas City restaurants and caterers. Volunteers package and distribute the recovered food for free to local families and children via social service programs.

Diane Mora, education and program director for Kids Feeding Kids, was volunteering with Pete’s Garden when Weber learned about her dual background as a high school educator and professional chef.

“Tamara had this idea that if we could donate groceries to area high schools, maybe they would be interested in cooking it and delivering it to the families,” Mora said. “But she wanted it to be more robust than that and asked if I could create lesson plans around it and find a way to build it into a larger program, which is how Kids Feeding Kids was created.” 

When Kids Feeding Kids began in 2021, only five high schools in the Kansas City area were involved. More than 30 high schools across Kansas, Missouri and Illinois now participate.

Teachers involved in the program are provided with a standards-aligned food justice and culinary real-world learning project. The students participate in the program during their normal school days, often through a culinary class or a family and consumer sciences (FACS) course.

The Summer Institute

To help prepare teachers to participate in the Kids Feeding Kids program, Mora leads them through a three-day professional development course called the Summer Institute.

“We take teachers through every step of what it means to teach the lessons, prepare and plan the menu, create a production schedule within their kitchen labs and find families in need.”

Meghann Leintz and Chef Steve Venne are two educators who have implemented the Kids Feeding Kids program in their own classrooms.

“As Diane and her team continue to refine the Kids Feeding Kids program, the Summer Institute allowed me to gain a better understanding of what information is new, what has changed and how to teach that not only to students but also to other instructors who may want to become part of the Kids Feeding Kids program,” Venne said.

Venne teaches Culinary 2, Front of the House Restaurant, and Catering and Event Planning at the Broadmoor Bistro for the Center for Academic Achievement, a signature program for the Shawnee Mission School District. He and his students have been involved in Kids Feeding Kids since its inception.

According to Leintz, FACS teacher at Wellsville High School, the Summer Institute provides a valuable opportunity for educators to come together and learn how to implement a special curriculum into their programs.

“It gives educators the first-hand knowledge and training necessary to complete this project in the classroom without the assistance from a Kids Feeding Kids director,” Leintz said.

Distribution Events

As part of the program, teachers commit to leading two distribution events — typically one in the fall and one in the spring — with their students. After attending the Summer Institute led by Mora, teachers are provided with the tools necessary to complete their first distribution event. That includes 32-ounce to-go containers, labels, templates and digital learning material. According to Mora, teachers order ingredients for the distribution events through their normal district supplier and are reimbursed by Kids Feeding Kids.

Leading up to the distribution event, teachers run their students through the lesson plans, which are focused on destigmatizing those facing food insecurity, demonstrating culinary skills and engaging students in community service.

One part of the learning module is for students to listen to an NPR podcast featuring interviews with families who talk about the circumstances that led them to experience food insecurity.

“We are very committed to making sure students understand it’s not a character flaw and there are many reasons families can find themselves needing assistance,” Mora said.

Depending on the classroom schedule and number of students, many classes take three days to a week to prepare the food for a distribution event. On the day of the distribution event, the class focuses on packaging the prepared food into servings. Teachers are asked to make 200 to 1,000 servings.

“That’s where the real-world learning and industry experience comes in for the students, because that’s what it would be like to cater meals on a large scale,” Mora said.

Leintz has first-hand experience conducting distribution events with her students.

“When I completed this project in my community, we partnered with the local church food pantry,” Leintz said. “We made chicken fried rice, and it was very well received by all.”

Incorporating Kids Feeding Kids at Your School

For teachers interested in bringing Kids Feeding Kids to their school district, the first step is to sign up for the 2025 Summer Institute mailing list on the website or through this form and keep an eye out for more information. Institute spots are limited, so an application is required.

Both Venne and Leintz recommend the program to other teachers.

“The program has no financial cost to the school and gives the students an opportunity to serve an underserved part of our community while gaining knowledge,” Venne said. 

Leintz shared that she feels lucky to be part of the program.

“The information within the curriculum aligns with national and state standards within the FACS department,” she said. “It also crosses over into other areas of curriculum allowing teachers to partner with other departments and make the project as elaborate or as simple as you want it to be.”

In addition to the many benefits of participating in Kids Feeding Kids, the program also lends itself to students competing in projects for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America and those needing to meet community service requirements.

Kids Feeding Kids is generously funded by WellSky Foundation, Sysco Foods and the Patrick Mahomes Foundation.