A transformative initiative sweeping the United States, Kids in Nutrition (KIN) revolutionizes the way elementary school students perceive and engage with their food choices. This program is on a mission to elevate food literacy among young minds, with a focus on instilling sustainable and healthy dietary habits from an early age. These habits, KIN believes, are crucial for chronic disease prevention, health equity, and environmental preservation.

Michelle Nicolet, Co-founder and CEO of KIN, shared their unique approach. “KIN operates on a grassroots level, creating change from the local level outwards,” she said. “We believe that individual changes impact community changes that go on to impact city changes, and then you continue outward.”

KIN’s methodology involves deploying teams of five volunteer university student instructors to make weekly visits to local elementary classrooms over a 2 month period. Nicolet elaborates, “Students explore a new topic each week, engaging elementary students with interactive visuals, hands-on games, physical activity, outdoor play, and group discussions.” The curriculum, which aligns with state education standards, covers themes like fruits and vegetables, hydration, balanced plates, and understanding nutrition labels.

The seeds of KIN were first planted in Santa Barbara, California, where Nicolet and co-founder Angela Shields, observed a glaring gap in nutrition education while completing their undergraduate degrees. “We wanted to do nutrition education specifically for kids… and we couldn’t find anything,” Nicolet recalls.

Their journey began at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), where they partnered with Sprout Up, an organization focused on teaching environmental science and sustainability to children, to develop a program model. They not only authored the curriculum but also personally delivered these lessons in local elementary schools.

Today, KIN has expanded its reach significantly, with chapters across seven locations, including their newest addition at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) in 2023. Gina Stevens, UC Davis Lead KIN Director, spoke about their rapid growth: “The [Davis] chapter started with just two classrooms, 20 volunteers, and 42 elementary school students. Within two months, it expanded to encompass five classrooms, 40 volunteers, and 110 students.”

Looking ahead, KIN aims to broaden its curriculum to encompass food sustainability and a wider range of grades. Ailsa McNaught, KIN Director at Tufts University, shared their future plans. “Currently our mission is to start implementing some of the food sustainability curriculum KIN has created… We are hoping to possibly collaborate with some of the sustainability groups on campus and with the Friedman School of Nutrition.”

KIN‘s expanded curriculum will delve into the climate crisis, food systems, food waste, processing and packaging, and food labels and marketing. It aims to build on the existing nutrition curriculum, offering a more comprehensive understanding of food sustainability issues within the food system.

As KIN continues to evolve, Nicolet remains focused on addressing local challenges at each site. “Incorporating families is one of the challenges we face as an organization, but we have programs like KINcentives to try and bring our lessons home,” she said. The KINcentive program is designed to translate classroom learning into practical, everyday application. Materials are provided in both English and Spanish. “Shifting the consumer demand through teaching the younger generations and preventing chronic disease through education and food access are major goals of KIN. Imagine if even a small chunk of the money put into treating these preventable diseases could be redirected to something else.”