MIAMI \u2014 For a group of South Florida children, learning about healthy eating starts with picking up a knife, chopping vegetables and getting into the kitchen.<\/p>\n
The kids recently gathered to prepare lemon pepper chicken while learning that nutritious meals can also be affordable, familiar and, most importantly, taste good.<\/p>\n
Leading the lesson was Ashley Carter, a dietitian, wellness educator and co-founder and director of EatWell Exchange<\/a>, a nonprofit working to break down financial and social barriers to healthy food.<\/p>\n For Carter, who grew up in Miami\u2019s Liberty City neighborhood, the mission is deeply personal.<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up, both of my parents had diabetes, and unfortunately my mom passed when I was just in high school from complications of diabetes,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n That loss helped shape the path she would eventually take.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce I became a dietitian, the first thing I wanted to do was start a nonprofit that would teach you how to eat healthy, but most important, include cultural foods and foods that are familiar,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n Making healthy food accessible and familiar<\/p>\n That nonprofit became EatWell Exchange.<\/p>\n Since 2017, the organization has reached more than 80,000 people, including children, adults and seniors across South Florida.<\/p>\n EatWell Exchange offers free cooking classes at schools, churches and community events, teaching participants that eating well doesn\u2019t have to mean abandoning the foods and flavors they know.<\/p>\n The goal is to show people that good food can be accessible, affordable and appetizing.<\/p>\n During a recent class, children learned to prepare lemon pepper chicken and vegetables, taking an active role in making their own meals.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s healthy and I love it, and it\u2019s good,\u201d participant Lyric Bailey said.<\/p>\n EatWell Exchange says children who cook their own food are 75% more likely to eat it.<\/p>\n Publix volunteers join Food for Thought effort<\/p>\n