DC Charity Spotlight: Brainfood

WISH LIST $100: supplies and food for 2 classes per day; $1000: tuition for 1 student in the Summer Institute; $5000: tuition for 1 student in Brainfood After School

Brainfood counts on the universal appeal of food to attract students - most of whom grapple with poverty, violence, and a school system that fails to meet their needs - to an after-school program that gets them off the streets and into the kitchen, giving them real-life skills in a genuinely appealing context. Cooking is fun, but it also requires reading, math, science, creativity, teamwork, and leadership, all skills that youngsters need to succeed. And learning about health and nutrition can have a real impact on what kids actually eat. So it's no surprise that the program has expanded from one site in Columbia Heights to a second in Chinatown, allowing it to attract youth from all eight wards of the District. Brainfood After School runs from October through May, and Brainfood Summer Institute operates for six weeks in the summer: longer classes allow for increasingly complex meal preparation, more ambitious field trips, additional opportunities for guest speakers, and community service at area food banks and local shelters. Brainfood and your sustenance: now there's a recipe for success!

Paul Dahm,

Executive Director 1525 Newton Street NW Washington, DC 20010 202-667-5515 www.brain-food.org