LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — It's National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day and kids here at Crawford Middle School are putting their cooking club skills to work, making an Agua Fresca drink.
One 8th-grade student, Thamazya Tillman, says, "Like — when you add the lime it's like this sour flavor, when you add that sweetener, it makes it a little bit sweeter and it makes it really good."
The club was founded at the school four years ago during the pandemic. The school's after-school program, Extra Innings, partners with FoodChain to teach kids where their food comes from and how to make healthy meals.
Extra Innings’ director, Debbie Glenn, says, "You know, without FoodChain, a lot of them wouldn't have a good grasp of anything beyond what their families buy at Kroger, not realizing seasonally what is fresh, what is better and you know not realizing that they can actually get better products."
The club is just one of 31 that the Fayette Education Foundation is presenting grants to. They awarded $55,000 in 'Bright Idea' grants — which help fund projects in the Fayette County school system.
Fayette Education Foundation executive director Carrie Boling says, "One of our first priorities became grants — classroom grants, innovative grants, ways that our teachers and our students could expand their learning inside and outside the classroom."
The middle school's grant was sponsored by Independence Bank and other community partners have sponsored projects at other schools. Today's presentation brings the foundation's award total to $100,000 since its inception.
Boling says, "As a former teacher, the amount of money that I spent out of my own pocket, I know that they want to do these things, but an extra couple thousand dollars is not always in their budgets. So, it allows them to go the extra mile and they are so excited and so appreciative."
Glenn says, "We rely in our program solely on grant money. And two, this is a big, big addition for us. This helps us because like I said, otherwise, we wouldn't be able to offer these other types of enrichment activities."
The foundation and its community partners are helping Fayette County kids stay creative and get new experiences.
