{"id":128333,"date":"2026-01-22T22:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T22:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/128333\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T22:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T22:01:10","slug":"local-volunteer-inspires-healthy-eating-in-orlando","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/128333\/","title":{"rendered":"Local volunteer inspires healthy eating in Orlando"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014\u00a0An Orlando volunteer is helping children and families build healthier habits \u2014 one meal at a time. Karen Madanick, this week\u2019s Everyday Hero, is dedicated to hands-on food education through The Kitchen House<\/a>, a garden-to-table nonprofit teaching kids how fresh, plant-based food can be both nutritious and delicious.<\/p>\n

What You Need To Know<\/p>\n

Students grow, prepare, and cook fresh meals straight from an urban farm in Orlando\u2019s College Park neighborhood
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The program introduces kids to plant-based eating and encourages them to try new foods
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Dedicated volunteers like Karen and her husband Craig help keep the program thriving year after year<\/p>\n

From farm to table, children at The Kitchen House are getting real-life experience harvesting vegetables and turning them into healthy meals. Inside the kitchen, young students chop, stir, and taste \u2014 often trying foods they\u2019ve never had before.<\/p>\n

Karen Madanick and her husband Craig have volunteered with The Kitchen House for just over three years. Karen says once she learned about the organization, getting involved was an easy decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was love,\u201d Madanick said. \u201cI\u2019m a real foodie, and this was the place for me. It was my community.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sense of community is at the heart of the nonprofit\u2019s mission. Karen says she especially enjoys helping kids explore healthier eating habits and watching their reactions as they try new foods.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis organization is about showing how a plant-based diet can be tasty and very healthy for you,\u201d she said. \u201cI love seeing the kids try new foods \u2014 the faces they make and how they share.\u201d<\/p>\n

Co-Executive Director Betsy Gwinn says volunteers like Karen and Craig are essential to the program\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey really love working with the kids, helping them learn about fresh food and prepare recipes,\u201d Gwinn said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been a terrific asset.\u201d<\/p>\n

Craig Madanick agrees, saying the experience keeps him coming back.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing here is not work,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s something I look forward to because of the people and the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karen and Craig say they have no plans of slowing down anytime soon \u2014 committed to the kids, the mission, and the community they\u2019ve grown to love.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the people here,\u201d Karen said. \u201cAnd I love the community here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014\u00a0An Orlando volunteer is helping children and families build healthier habits \u2014 one meal at a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128334,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[2297,28293,2296,115,139,141,140,835],"class_list":{"0":"post-128333","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-app-everyday-heroes","9":"tag-curtis-mccloud","10":"tag-everyday-hero","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-orlando","13":"tag-orlando-headlines","14":"tag-orlando-news","15":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}