The BGC Kids Food + Wellness Festival is an annual event aimed to encourage youth make healthy lifestyle choices.
The goal of the festival is to educate and expose local youth to local organizations and businesses that provides services to kids and teens in the areas of food, health and wellness.
By offering a culturally relevant and empowering culinary experience, The BGC Culinary Program seeks to inspire and uplift Black girls, equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to become confident in the kitchen. We provide hands-on cooking and baking classes that cover a variety of dishes and desserts from African, Caribbean, Southern, and other Black culinary traditions. Participants are taught fundamental cooking techniques, such as knife skills, seasoning, and temperature control, as well as baking principles like measuring and mixing. We encourage participants to develop a positive relationship with food and their bodies, promoting body positivity and self-acceptance.
Black Girls Cook often partners with community organizations and local businesses to host culinary related events to engage with residents and teach them how to prepare healthy meals at home and grow edible gardens.
Edible Gardening Program
The Food Playground
What We Do
Launched in the Spring of 2018 at the request of several girls who participated in the culinary program, The BGC Edible Garden Program allows the girls to see firsthand what the connections are between plants, animals, and the food that we eat. To ensure that the program is equitable, our curriculum is heavily geared toward edible indoor gardening practices. Indoor edible gardening focuses on teaching participants how to grow edible plants indoors, typically in limited spaces such as apartments and homes without backyard space. The program highlights the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of gardening, including stress reduction, physical activity, and connection to nature.
The BGC Kids Food + Wellness Festival
Community Engagement
The Kitchen Sink Beauty Entrepreneurship Program teaches girls how to create skin care products with ingredients found in the kitchen such as oils, sugars, salts, spices, and herbs. Many commercial skincare products contain harsh chemicals and synthetic ingredients that may not be suitable for all skin types, particularly those with melanin-rich skin. All KSBE classes emphasize the use of natural, plant-based ingredients that are gentle and nourishing for young Black skin.The curriculum also incorporates entrepreneurial classes so the girls can sell their products for personal gain.
These workshops are hosted in conjunction with top MUAs and estheticians.
What We Do
The Kitchen Sink Beauty Entrepreneurship Program (KSBE)
BGC Culinary Program
The Food Playground is a collaboration between Black Girls Cook and The Be.Org. The Food Playground infuses the principles of STEM with culinary arts .The goal of The Food Playground is to provide inner-city adolescent girls of color opportunities to gain confidence and gain hands-on experience in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) practices by exploring ecosystems and food systems. Using a combination of gardening, cooking and exploring the local community, the program guides the young ladies through projects that engage them in science practices, encourage life-long habits of health, and give them practice being leaders in their community.