Common Threads Expands Digital Training Platform to Bring 23 Years of Nutrition Education Online, Launching September 15th

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- After 23 years of teaching children and families about nutrition and healthy cooking, Common Threads is taking the educational experience online. The national nonprofit today announced an expansion of TEACH (Teaching Everyone About Cooking & Health), its digital learning platform. This update adds certificate courses in Nutrition Fundamentals and Healthy Cooking Skills, and will soon feature the full suite of Common Threads programs as digital Train-the-Trainer courses. The move addresses a familiar constraint: in-person programs can demonstrate results, but their reach depends on instructors, geography and funding.

Common Threads has reached more than 1.2 million participants, including more than 687,000 students, and delivered more than 7.6 million hours of programming. Its curriculum has been examined through 10 external evaluations and a formal continuous-improvement process. TEACH converts accumulated experience into professional training that doesn't depend on location or a scheduled cohort. The platform is aimed at PreK–12 educators, community health workers, registered dietitians, and health and social service professionals.

Nutrition Fundamentals focuses on foundational nutrition knowledge and its application in classrooms, families, and communities. Healthy Cooking Skills focuses on translating that knowledge into practical food preparation. Both are self-paced and incorporate instructional videos that increase accessibility and deepen content knowledge. The platform's future Train-the-Trainer options will take the model a step further, allowing organizations to train their own facilitators to implement Common Threads licensed curriculum.

This strategy builds on what Common Threads has seen in schools. At Don Haskins PK-8 in El Paso, Texas, an initial Cooking Skills & World Cuisine program generated enough demand for the school to extend programming to younger students and families.

"The kitchen became a classroom where children learned leadership, teamwork, cooperation, responsibility, communication and confidence," said Chef Vivian, a Common Threads chef educator.

Before releasing the expanded platform publicly, Common Threads is asking outside reviewers to test it for usability, value, and relevance across different professional settings. These experts include: Dr. Lisa Waddell, CEO of LFW Public Health Connections LLC, and former chief medical officer of the CDC Foundation; Jeremy Walter, executive director of Food and Climate Education at New York City Public Schools; Dr. Jaimie Davis, director of the School of Health and Human Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin; Kate MacKenzie, CEO Practice to Policy; and Dr. Pamela Koch, faculty director of the Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy at Columbia University. Their recommendations will inform final refinements to the platform before the planned September 2026 launch. The expansion was developed with leadership from LaTrice Stirrup and Samantha Jones of Common Threads, who helped translate the organization's existing curriculum and program knowledge into the new digital experience with support from Minna Sabbahi, Common Threads Registered Dietician.

The expansion of TEACH has been made possible through the generous support of the Ahmanson, Hearst, and Paso del Norte Health Foundations, whose investments have helped make this next phase of digital learning and educator capacity-building possible.

"Some of the most valuable things we've learned don't exist in a single curriculum," O'Keefe said. "They come from educators, families, evaluation and years of seeing what actually works. TEACH is an effort to make sure that knowledge can travel."

About Common Threads

Common Threads is a national nonprofit focused on food and nutrition education. Over more than two decades, the organization has reached 1.2 million+ participants, including 687,000+ students; delivered 7.6 million+ program hours; and supported more than 5.6 million meals and snacks. Its work includes hands-on programming, curriculum, educator training and digital learning.

SOURCE Common Threads