The 4th graders of Baskerville Elementary ended the school year with a treat. As a reward for finishing their End-of-Grade testing week, Nash Community College’s (NCC) mobile culinary lab was invited to the campus to teach the kids how to make whole wheat berry pancakes, a healthier version of a typical pancake.

Here's the breakdown of how the day went:

• Fifty 4th graders were split evenly into two classrooms.

Students in classroom 1 spent the morning cooking. They were split into teams of 5 to create their own salad dressings and to go outside to the mobile kitchen unit. In the unit, a real chef taught them how to make healthy pancakes using whole wheat flour, fresh berries, and local honey. Everyone in classroom one made their own rainbow wraps.

Meanwhile, students in classroom 2 learned about the culinary arts profession. They watched clips of cooking shows and engaged in a guided discussion and a presentation.

• The two classrooms then switched activities. The day ended with a Q&A session with the chef.
   

As one of Down East Partnership for Children's FoodCorps site, the 4th graders of Baskerville spent the year learning about food and nutrition, cooking, and gardening for an hour each week with Rhea Singh, a FoodCorps service member. NCC’s mobile culinary lab provided a unique opportunity for the kids to apply some of the things they’d learned, and see firsthand how cooking with heat changes food physically and chemically.