PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
By Michael Ty, CEC, AAC
Making a Difference
for Children
The Chef & Child Foundation (CCF) has
always been dear to my heart. For many
members it has been a way for chefs to
leave their kitchens and reach out to their
communities to make a positive difference
for our profession. October 16th is
Childhood Nutrition Day, and it is only fitting
that I talk to you about the value of the Chef
& Child Foundation and encourage chapters
across our nation to hold nutritional
awareness events on or around this date.
The mission of Chef & Child is “to educate
children and families in understanding proper
nutrition through community-based initiatives
led by American Culinary Federation chef
members, and to be the voice of the culinary
industry in its fight against childhood hunger,
malnutrition and obesity.” The goals are to
educate the membership and public through
awareness, to provide educational programs
for the community and to raise awareness
of childhood hunger and obesity throughout
the nation.
of chefs, industry leaders and professionals
to improve on the original mission set out
20 years ago. Many ACF chapters promote
the cause of CCF through educational
outreach and fundraising.
Some of the national initiatives that CCF
encourages chapters to promote are The Chef
in the Classroom, Cooking Is for Kids, Hit a
Home Run for Nutrition, Food Is Knowledge
and What You Eat . . . It’s Up to You. Chapters
across ACF are not limited to just these
opportunities, but can customize their own
programs to fit their community and niche.
ACF national president Michael Ty, fourth
from left, meets with ACF members at The
International Culinary School at The Art
Institute of Phoenix (Ariz.), left to right: Eric
Watson, MBA, CCC, CEC, instructor, The Art
Institute of Phoenix; Dezirea Elizondo, student,
The Art Institute of Phoenix; Dieter Preiser,
CEC, AAC, executive chef, Dole Food Service
Co.; Walter Leible, CMC, AAC, executive chef,
The Art Institute of Phoenix; Joseph LaVilla,
Ph.D., CEC, CCE, CCA, academic director,
The Art Institute of Phoenix; Odell Baskerville,
executive chef, Arizona Inn, Tucson (Ariz.); and
Bill Sy, CEC, AAC, CMC-China, academic
director, The International Culinary School at
The Art Institute of Tucson.
Chefs are not only passionate, but caring, and
when this program was launched in 1989 by
national president Jack Braun, CEC, AAC,
HOF, he tasked a group of ACF members
under the leadership of George Hirsch, AAC,
to embark on a mission that today remains
vibrant and gives chefs the opportunity to
solve problems associated with childhood
hunger and malnutrition through education.
In addition, CCF has joined with Clemson
University, Clemson, S.C., to provide nutrition
information for chefs so that we can, in turn,
cook more healthful foods. “Culinary Nutrition
News” articles are free, and can be downloaded
at ACF’s Web site each month. This is one more
way that CCF is meeting its mission.
profit, all funds raised must be reported to
the national office to be in compliance with
the laws governing and protecting our
501-C3 status.
Celebrating 20 years of success and
recognition, the Chef & Child Foundation,
under the leadership of Elizabeth Mikesell,
CEC, AAC, has developed a proactive group
Fundraising is a major component of
the success of CCF. The benefactor of
a successful chapter fundraising event
is an organization in the community that
the chapter embraces and works with
throughout the year. As a 501-C3 not-for-
The Chef & Child Foundation annually
recognizes the success of chapters and
individuals that make a positive difference in
the lives of children in their communities: the
Little Oscar Award recognizes chapters that
put forth exceptional effort to advance the
mission of CCF; the True Spirit Award honors
an individual or chapter that demonstrates
extraordinary efforts in the mission of CCF;
continued on page 11
www.acfchefs.org
7
