Rachael Ray's Non-profit Organization Yum-o!

Common Threads helps bridge cultural boundaries and strengthens our global family by teaching children about their similarities and differences in the warm comfort of the kitchen: their mission is to educate children on the importance of nutrition and physical well-being and to foster an appreciation of cultural diversity through cooking. Through the simple process of preparing and sharing a nutritious meal, children who participate in their programs learn to connect with their bodies, their neighbors and their world in bite-size lessons.

Find out more about Common Threads' afterschool classes and summer camp programs.

Started as a produce market in Philadelphia's Reading Terminal, The Food Trust has expanded its mission to increase access to affordable and nutritious foods, improve the health of children and adults through better nutrition and to support local farms and sustain the environment. The program has been a remarkable success: one part of it, increasing the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables in elementary schools, along with nutrition education, is credited with helping reduce the incidence of overweight students by 50%!

Learn more about The Food Trust and its useful tools and resources, including their Healthy Schools Toolkit.

A program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the SmallStep Adult & Teen website, along with the SmallStep Kids website, is a terrific resource for learning how even small changes can add up to big results when it comes to getting active and eating healthy. The sites are filled with tips to integrate better eating and activity habits into a healthy lifestyle one small step at a time, along with free materials for teachers and links to local resources with possible funding opportunities.

Find out more about SmallStep!

After hearing a call to get active and eat healthier from teachers and administrators, students at Neshaminy Middle School in Langhorne, PA were inspired to survey their fellow students and use the results to work with the school's food service program to include a salad bar as part of their school cafeteria offerings.

Learn more about how these students took action at Neshaminy Middle School, a participant in the Alliance for a Healthier Generation's Healthy Schools program.

Jr. Chefs of America (JCOA) is a web-based show created for kids, hosted by kids, that encourages young chefs to start cooking fresh, home-cooked meals for themselves. By challenging the notion that kids can't navigate the kitchen on their own and emphasizing safety first, JCOA hopes to inspire a new generation of smart eaters and build parents' confidence about their children's skills in the kitchen.

Check out what's happening on Jr. Chefs of America!