Classes

LAYC’s Food and Nutrition Program (FNP) offers hands-on cooking, nutrition, and gardening classes to youth ages six to 24, primarily in partnership with other LAYC programs. Whether in ten-week cohorts in the Teen Center, drop-in classes at Rita Bright Family & Youth Center (a DC Recreation Center managed for the city by LAYC), or one-off collaborations with the Young Parents Program, youth hone their cooking skills, trying new foods, learning how to make healthy choices about what they eat, and engaging with broader food justice issues.

Gardens

The FNP team manages two urban gardens: a small garden in front of the Kaplan Building on Columbia Road, and a larger garden at the Rita Bright Family & Youth Center. Both gardens serve as additional classrooms, providing youth with direct experience about how food grows and what’s in season. The vegetables, fruits, and herbs grown in the gardens are harvested and used by youth in cooking classes.

Pantry

The LAYC pantry opened in September 2021 as an extension of the emergency food distribution LAYC provided during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Managed by the FNP team, the pantry provides food for LAYC clients across the organization through LAYC staff. Staff pick up bags of food (as well as other items like toiletries, diapers, and feminine hygiene products) for clients at any time through “grab-and-go,” and distribute to multiple families.

CONTACT

Kristen McLester
Food & Nutrition Coordinator
Kristen.mclester@layc-dc.org
(202) 319-2225.