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Mr. Soto from Chicago IL is requesting materials related to food, clothing & hygiene through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

Cooking for Wellness w/Mr.Soto!

Help me give my students the kitchen tools to empower them to take control of their health and wellbeing by learning how to prepare healthy and nutritious food options for themselves and their families!

  • $1,728 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

Celebrate Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

I teach Health & Wellness to around 300 students in grades 3rd-8th in a small neighborhood on the SW side of Chicago. Most of my students live near our school, have immigrant parents, and are learning english as their second language. In most of them I see my own childhood insecurities and in their working class parents I see many of the struggles that were faced by my own.

The philosophy at our school is simple--serve the whole child.

That philosophy can be felt through our IB curriculum which encourages learning through inquiry and play, through our restorative justice practices which put an emphasis on fixing and restoring the damaged relationship instead of punishing the mistake, and even in our food program where all our food is fresh and organic and students receive fruit as a mid-day snack every day.

My Project

This year I have been fortunate to be selected as part of the Pilot Light Food Education Fellowship program which will put an emphasis on cooking and using food as a tool to help guide academic learning. As part of the fellowship I will receive a $1,000 stipend to purchase cooking equipment and food supplies for the year. With 300 students and ambitious plans for food cooking/serving/tastings through the whole academic year I know those funds will run out quickly. With your help my students will have all of the cooking equipment they need and I would have all of the resources necessary to support even more engaging (and tasty!) learning experiences.

During the year my students will learn about healthy eating through food tastings, recipe exploration/development/execution, self-reflection on our eating habits, and how to plan for a healthier future!

They will be exposed to new foods and flavors and be taught real life skills such as basic food safety, table manners, grocery shopping, recipe reading, and food preparation. As students learn these new skills they will also be receiving exposure to the mindfulness practices that are already a part of our Wellness curriculum. Mindful eating exercises will become a regular practice as students are allowed time to fully explore new foods by engaging as many senses as possible. These guided explorations will help students reflect on the relationships they have with the foods that we eat--not only their effect on our body weight but in the very flora of our digestive system and the chemicals we find in our brains. Students will learn about how our food choices affect our behavior and our mood, our ability to think, remember, and reason, and most importantly our ability to live long, happy and fulfilling lives!

During the year students will be exposed to wellness practices that will will address our Physical, Social, Emotional, Intellectual, Spiritual, and Environmental needs through a serious of engaging and thought provoking activities. With a kitchen cart and all of the tools at their disposal, my students can't wait to start cooking up some Wellness!

Mr. Soto
Grades 3-5

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Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Mr. Soto is requesting.

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Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
Ninja Mega Kitchen System (BL770) Blender/Food Processor with 1500W Auto-iQ Base, 72oz Pitcher, 64oz Processor Bowl, (2) 16oz Cup for Smoothies, Dough & More • Amazon Business $159.99 1 $159.99
Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls (Set of 5), Non Slip Colorful Silicone Bottom Nesting Storage Bowls by Aammaxs-yyi, Polished Mirror Finish For Healthy Meal Mixing and Prepping 1.5-2 - 2.5-3.5 - 7QT • Amazon Business $26.58 5 $132.90
GORILLA GRIP Original Reversible Cutting Board, 3 Piece, BPA Free, Juice Grooves, Larger Thicker Boards, Easy Grip Handle, Dishwasher Safe, Non Porous, Extra Large, Kitchen, Set of 3, Gray Red • Amazon Business $20.99 6 $125.94
Nicewell Food Scale, 22lb Digital Kitchen Scale Weight Grams and oz for Cooking Baking, 1g/0.1oz Precise Graduation, Stainless Steel and Tempered Glass • Amazon Business $19.99 6 $119.94
Cheffy Kitchenware 8 Piece Set plus Free Tongs. Quality design and manufacture, heat resistant, dishwasher safe. • Amazon Business $14.80 8 $118.40
zanmini Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons Set, 10 Pieces, 5 Measuring Cups and 5 Measuring Spoons with Colored Silicone Handles, Kitchen Gadgets Tool for Cooking & Baking • Amazon Business $16.99 6 $101.94
HOMI CHEF 14-Piece Nickel Free Stainless Steel Cookware Set - Nickel Free Stainless Steel Pots and Pans Set - Stainless Steel Non-Toxic Cookware Set - Stainless Steel Healthy Induction Cookware Sets • Amazon Business $97.00 1 $97.00
Qimh Collapsible Colander Set of 3 Round Silicone Kitchen Strainer Set - 2 pcs 4 Quart and 1 pcs 2 Quart- Perfect for Draining Pasta, Vegetable and fruit (green,blue, purple) • Amazon Business $15.99 6 $95.94
Extra Soft, Endlessly Reusable Kids Modeling Clay 12 Color Pack. Non-Toxic Rainbow Play Dough Blocks for Creative Fun For Child Artists. Long Lasting Putty Great for Gifts and Xmas Stocking Stuffers • Amazon Business $8.49 10 $84.90
Crayola Washable Paint, 16 Oz Plastic Squeeze Bottles, 1 Each of 12 Assorted Colors • Amazon Business $37.99 2 $75.98
BLACK+DECKER Countertop Convection Toaster Oven, Silver, CTO6335S • Amazon Business $64.07 1 $64.07
Vremi 3 Piece Plastic Measuring Cups Set - BPA Free Liquid Nesting Stackable Measuring Cups with Spout and Decorative Red Blue and Green Handles - includes 1, 2 and 4 Cup with Ml and Oz Measurement • Amazon Business $9.99 6 $59.94
Extra Thick Flexible Plastic Kitchen Cutting Board Mats Set, Olivivi Colored Mats With Food Icons & Easy-Grip Handles, BPA-Free, Non-Porous, Dishwasher Safe, Set of 6 • Amazon Business $19.99 2 $39.98
PriorityChef Premium Mixing Bowls With Lids, Inner Measurement Marks and Thicker Stainless Steel 5 Pc Bowl Set, Sizes 1.5/2/3/4/5 Qt • Amazon Business $39.95 1 $39.95
Hapy Shop 10 Pieces Kid Plastic Kitchen Knife Set,Chef Nylon Knives Children's Safe Cooking Knives,Food Grade Plastic Baking Knives for Fruit, Bread, Cake, Lettuce Knife and Salad Knife • Amazon Business $10.99 3 $32.97
Farberware 5077243 Classic Color Kitchen Knife Set, 6-Piece, • Amazon Business $9.65 3 $28.95
Acrylic Paint Brush Set, 6 Packs / 60 pcs Nylon Hair Brushes for All Purpose Oil Watercolor Painting Artist Professional Kits • Amazon Business $11.99 2 $23.98
12 Pcs Paint Tray Palettes Plastic for DIY Craft Professional Art Painting • Amazon Business $6.99 2 $13.98

Materials cost

$1,416.75

Vendor shipping charges

FREE

Sales tax

$0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$21.25

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$1,468.00

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$259.06

Total project goal

$1,727.06

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$1,727.06

23 Donors

-$1,411.62

Donations toward project cost

-$1,268.25

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$143.37

match offer

-$235.00

Match offer toward project cost

-$199.75

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$35.25

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$80.44

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

$0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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Project Activity

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