Over half of the adult population in Philadelphia is low-literate. Sixty-four percent of adults in Philadelphia are obese or overweight. Our Culinary Literacy Center addresses these needs head on through teaching literacy skills and giving people the tools to make healthy choices and nutritious meals. Our main initiatives focus on empowering schoolchildren both in their classrooms and in the CLC, scaffolding the SNAP-ED curriculum with literacy lessons for low-literate adults, and teaching ESL courses through the context of nutritious cooking classes. We have formed dynamic partnerships with other like-minded organizations, city agencies, library staff and individuals in the Culinary Literacy Center's programming to allow all Philadelphians to fully participate in the social, economic, and cultural life of the region.

The Culinary Literacy Center is a commercial-grade kitchen classroom space built during extensive renovations at our Parkway Central Library. We teach nutrition and health literacy, math, reading, and consumer skills. Our classes are for students of all ages, from Pre-K to seniors. We teach nutrition and health literacy to help with disease prevention. We give children the opportunity to experiment with new foods, new tools, and new ideas. We offer our students a chance to learn about food by getting hands-on and behind the stove.

Since May 2014, the Culinary Literacy Center presented over 125 programs to 2700 Philadelphians. We have formed dozens of partnerships with community organizations. We are working to develop assessment tools to collect metrics that will determine the impact of our program. We have learned that culinary literacy learning can be achieved through a myriad of programming and services and have tailored our efforts to meet the diverse needs of Philadelphia residents. While still too early to measure any statistically significant inroads from our efforts, we do anticipate a gradual shift in attitudes around food, cooking, and health among our community of users. We will continue to communicate the importance of healthy eating and greater awareness on the impact of food in our daily lives.