Help us reach our goal and support a healthy summer for kids today!
Cooking For Life
Common Threads is a national nonprofit that provides children and families cooking and nutrition education to encourage healthy habits that contribute to wellness. We equip under-resourced communities with information to make affordable, nutritious and appealing food choices wherever they live, work, learn, and play. We know that food is rooted in culture and tradition so we promote diversity in our lessons and recipes, encouraging our participants to celebrate the world around them.
Our WORK
Common Threads is a passionate team of problem solvers and learners driven by the desire to help build healthy, self-sustaining communities. Our approach is earnest, but not always conventional. We are intentional, but also entrepreneurial. Our work is experiential, with a desire for our lessons to complement and enhance learning. We are proud of our work, and humbled to be a part of communities across the country. Check out our latest public service announcement, and watch first hand the impact our work has in the communities we provide in.
OUR PROGRAMS
At Common Threads, we are picking up our pots and pans to stir up some excitement for fun, healthy, easy cooking: In the schools, communities and kitchens across America.
Small Bites
This in- or after-school program teaches PK-8th grade students about nutrition and healthy cooking through a series of eight lessons combining nutrition and knife-free cooking.
COOKING CLASSES
Offered virtually and in-person (with COVID protocols), Common Threads cooking classes bring students and parents together in the kitchen, featuring flavors from around the world.
On-Demand
This is a free, self-paced, virtual course for 3rd-5th grade students. Students will navigate through 9 interactive lessons exploring nutrition videos, snack making and more!
Parent Workshop
Students reached in 2020-2021
Adults reached in 2020-2021
Snacks & Meals served in 2020-2021
Partners in 2020-2021
What’s New
Earth Day Celebration: Easy Everyday Changes and Sustainable Practices for you to Adopt to Make a Difference
This month we celebrate Earth Day, an annual, worldwide campaign to raise awareness for pressing environmental issues like climate change, recycling, deforestation, pollution and more. While technically only one day a year, Earth Day highlights topics that should be kept top of mind while we go on about our everyday lives. In this blog post, we’re challenging you (and ourselves!) to try implementing the following practices, and let us know what they do for your daily routine
Feast Your Eyes on Common Threads Hottest Partnership: A Blog Celebration!
In late 2020, one particular partnership started heating up, opening a spicy new world for Common Threads. The First We Feast team approached Common Threads via email in fall 2020, indicating that the organization was very aligned with First We Feast’s goals for cause marketing. The resulting conversations showed that First We Feast is just as passionate and delighted about food and nutrition as Common Threads is.
3 Renowned Black Chefs You Should Know About this Black History Month
Happy Black History Month! Historically recognized in February, this month celebrates Black history and heritage of both the past and the present, including educating people on the often forgotten, veiled experiences and figures who shaped various industries. At Common Threads, we recognize and value the cultural roots in which much of our food is rooted in, with many of our recipes stemming from Caribbean, African and Southern cuisines.
Upcoming Events
All events are posted in Central Time (CST)
Join the Common Threads Chicago Board at Midwest Coast Brewery for a mid-summer evening of light bites and delicious beer in support of Common Threads’ Summer Health Campaign. We will have a small auction full of fabulous prizes, and special treats from some of Chicago’s best local chefs.
MUSIC | LOCAL CUISINE | BEER |AUCTION
Date: July 27, 2022
Time: 5:30pm – 8:00pm CT
TEACH
Digital Educational Portal
T.E.A.C.H. (Teaching Everyone About Cooking & Health) is an online portal designed to equip anyone and everyone with the skill sets to become a nutrition and wellness ambassador for your children, students and community. Learn more about our Small Bites healthy snack trainings, free webinar recordings and downloadable curriculum available today.
Recipes of the Month
July Highlights
Our Supporters
Empowering Our Community
The communities in which we work have faced unprecedented food insecurity and hunger as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Support Common Threads’ efforts to provide hands-on cooking and nutrition education programming.
