Member Spotlight: After-school All-Stars Los Angeles
After-School All-Stars Los Angeles has been a Small Bites Adventure Club member since 2022. Founded in 2002 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, After-School All-Stars, Los Angeles (ASAS-LA) is the premier K-12 program for schools throughout Los Angeles County and the Lucerne Valley. Their vision for their All-Stars is that they grow up safe and healthy, graduate high school and go on to college, find careers they love, and give back to their communities.
We got a chance to talk with the After-School All-Stars Los Angeles team: Rosemary, Tiana, Mirca and Nicholas about their experience. Read on!
Small Bites Adventure Club (SBAC) Greetings After-School All-Stars Los Angeles! Thank you for taking the time for this interview today. Overseeing an after school program is so challenging, and you are juggling so many programs. I’d love to know - why did you participate in Small Bites Adventure Club?
Rosemary: We participated in Small Bites because we had a lot of students interested in cooking. We wanted to teach students how to incorporate new fruits and vegetables in their meal plans.
We loved that Small Bites encouraged healthy choices. This program was an easy integration with our programs and the videos really helped the teachers!
Tiana: LA All-Stars has four pillars that we focus on. One of these four is health, fitness and nutrition. It’s important to us to keep kids active and healthy, and provide meaningful experiences around lifestyle choices such as meal preparation in schools and at home.
(SBAC) What was the overall impact of participating in Small Bites Adventure Club?
Rosemary: The students learned to love new vegetables. For example, the Groovy Green Goddess Dip and crazy carrots. At first, they were apprehensive and then they opened up with more exposure. This particular recipe reminded them of stories of how their families make recipes like guacamole at home.
Tiana: A lot of our students come from lower-income areas and families often feel they don’t have the funds to purchase healthy foods. This type of program teaches kids that healthy eating can be more accessible than they thought.
Mirca: And, Small Bites really encouraged family engagement. Parents would post pictures online and it really got our families involved. The parents were excited to see hands-on cooking integrated into the curriculum.
“This type of program teaches kids that healthy eating can be more accessible than they thought. ”
(SBAC) How was the Small Bites Adventure Club meaningful to the teachers?
Rosemary: The program really taught the teachers how to approach nutrition education. They were able to connect with the students and converse with them about their food preferences in personal ways. You feel at home when it comes to cooking! It creates more of a bond between the children and the teachers because they have the opportunity to bring it home with their families.
Mirca: It was really surprising to see more students open to trying new things. They enjoyed it and wanted to see it again in the future. They would look forward to the ingredients arriving and they loved the exploring their senses (smells and colors and tastes). And of course, they loved the stickers!
Crowd favorite: Green Goddess Dip and Crazy Carrots.
Nicholas: The online portal was a great tool, especially for onboarding to help those who carried out the lessons. It really made the teachers feel confident in the material!
(SBAC) What were your students’ favorite recipes?
All: It’s hard to choose - but we loved Green Goodness Dressing with Crazy Carrots, the Very Berry Smoothie and of course the Super Power Kale Pesto!
Thank you After-school All-Stars Los Angeles for going above and beyond to help children discover, eat and love fruits and vegetables through hands-on food education!