Job Corps 'Top Chefs' to Meet with White House Chef and Food Policy Adviser Samuel Kass

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 20 Job Corps food service managers from across the country will meet tomorrow with White House Chef and Senior Policy Adviser For Healthy Food Initiatives Samuel Kass to discuss new approaches to preparing healthy and sustainable food.

The meeting is scheduled to include a discussion with Chef Kass' team in the East Wing and a tour of First Lady Michelle Obama's organic garden on the White House lawn.

"The White House has been instrumental in creating greater awareness for healthy food and the importance of maintaining healthy lifestyles at any age," said LaVera Leonard, president of the National Job Corps Association. "We look forward to sharing strategies with Chef Kass and his team, and learning their best practices for preparing delicious, healthy, and sustainable food."

The meeting coincides with Job Corps' "Top Chefs: Creating Healthy and Nutritious Food Services" professional development training course held October 20-21. The event will offer a comprehensive training seminar for Job Corps food service managers who will participate in interactive discussions with leading chefs and experts, test new approaches to healthy cooking in the kitchen, and develop new menus and options that can be shared with other Job Corps centers. The ultimate goal is to help their students receive the best possible foundation to a healthy lifestyle after graduation.

"Job Corps trains and prepares us for challenges in the kitchen and in life," said Steve Peck, Delaware Valley Job Corps Center Food Service Manager. "It's an honor and a privilege to meet and learn from the chef who feeds the president and his family."

Edna Primrose, national director of Job Corps, said, "I am pleased that our Job Corps center operators are working together to ensure that Job Corps students have access to healthy and nutritious foods. The Job Corps program serves thousands of meals each year, so it is essential that our students are served healthy fare, leading them to a healthier future."

Job Corps, a part of the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration, is the nation's largest career technical training and education program for students ages 16 through 24. It provides training and support services to more than 100,000 young people each year at 124 centers in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In recent years, nearly 80 percent of Job Corps graduates have entered employment, higher education, or the military upon completion of the program.

USDA's "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative seeks to create new economic opportunities, promote local and regional food systems that help retain wealth in rural communities, and encourage a national conversation about what we eat and where it comes from in order to benefit producers of all sizes.

Since 1964, Job Corps has been our nation's premier dropout recovery program. Job Corps has helped over 2 million disadvantaged youth complete their high school education and transition into employment or higher education.

SOURCE Job Corps