For schools & community centers
We Run the Whole Program. You Provide the Room.
Hands-on cooking enrichment at your site, taught by our instructors on a curriculum written by a Registered Dietitian. We bring the equipment, the ingredients and the clean-up. Weekly clubs during the school year, week-long camps in summer.
From coordinators like you
Our Longest Partnership Is Nine Years Old.
“Her class has received excellent reviews in the satisfaction surveys sent to participating families, and our community is asking that we continue.”
“A terrific value-add to our ever-growing list of after-school programs. The club advisor is a breeze to work with.”
Who runs Food Explorers
Ten Schools Across the Bay Area.
Independent and private schools across the Bay Area, plus eight community center sites run with six partner agencies.
- The Harker School
- Stratford Schools
- BASIS Independent Fremont
- German International School of Silicon Valley
- Milpitas Christian School
- Woodland School
- Alpha School
- Khan Lab School
- Valley Christian School
- Brave Christian School
In every session
What Your Students Do
Cook & bake
Real recipes and real tools — measured, mixed and tasted by the students themselves.
Explore cultures
Turkish, Vietnamese, Moroccan, Mexican, Filipino, Indian — a different kitchen each week.
Discover food science
Why dough rises, why butter browns, what whole grain actually means. Curiosity first.
Build kitchen skills
Knife work, measuring, cleaning up. Skills that transfer well beyond the club.
Every session is written up for families afterwards — the dish, the skills practised and the ingredient behind it. See the Kitchen Library →
The arrangement
Who Does What
Enrichment programs usually fail on logistics, not on content. Here is the split in plain terms, so you can judge the workload before we ever speak.
Food Explorers brings
- The instructorBackground-checked, Food Handler Certified, and trained on our curriculum before they run a session.
- The curriculumWritten by Purvi Shah, RDN — recipe, skills and safety steps for every week.
- All ingredientsSourced, prepped and portioned. Nothing is bought by the school.
- All equipmentAge-appropriate knives, graters, boards, bowls, portable burners and a food processor.
- Set-up and clean-upThe room is left as we found it.
- Family communicationA written session note after each club, covering skills and ingredients.
Your school provides
- A room with tablesA classroom or multipurpose room is enough. No teaching kitchen needed.
- Access to a sinkFor hand-washing and clean-up.
- Power outletsFor portable burners and small appliances.
- A weekly time slotTypically one after-school session a week across a term.
- The note to familiesA line in your newsletter or parent portal. We supply the wording.
- The enrolment listWho is coming, plus any allergy information, before week one.
Safety & supervision
Yes, They Use Real Knives.
Children cook with real tools, because that is what makes it work. Here is everything in place before one is handed over.
- Small class sizesAn instructor is always within reach, and no child waits their turn to take part.
- Tools matched to ageFrom crinkle cutters to a chef’s knife — each one taught before it is used.
- Heat is never unsupervisedStovetop and oven steps happen with an instructor at the student’s side, start to finish.
- Allergy protocolCollected before week one, shared with the instructor, substitutions planned in advance.
- Background-checked instructorsVetted, Food Handler Certified, and trained on the curriculum and its safety steps before teaching.
- Certificate of insuranceSent to your office on request, naming the school where required.
Registration & payment
However Your School Already Does It.
We do not ask you to change your enrolment process. Most of our partners keep registration in-house — but if you would rather hand it over, we can take it.
You handle it
Families register and pay through your existing system. You send us the roster. Nothing changes for your office.
We handle it
We give you a registration link to send home. We collect enrolment, allergies, waivers and payment, and send you the roster.
A third platform
If your district uses its own enrichment or recreation portal, we work inside it.
For community centers & rec departments
A Camp That Fills, and Almost No Staff Time.
You need catalog slots that sell and a vendor who does not become your problem. Eight community center sites, run with six partner agencies, already host our summer camps.
We arrive ready for your paperwork
Certificate of insurance naming your agency as additional insured, background-checked and Food Handler Certified instructors, and whatever clearances your department requires. Send us the vendor packet and we will work through it.
Registration stays in your system
Families enrol through your portal and pay you, the way they do for every other class in your catalog. You send us the roster. Nothing changes for your front desk.
We bring the entire camp
Instructors, curriculum, ingredients, knives, boards, burners, aprons and clean-up. You provide a room with tables, a sink and power.
We write to your catalog deadline
Course description, age band, capacity and photography, in your format and by your season date. Tell us when you close submissions.
Where we have run camps
Summer camps delivered on site, with registration run through each agency’s own system — the same way it would work at yours.
Next step
Tell Us About Your Site.
Ages, timing and how many children you’d expect — plus your catalog deadline if you have one. We’ll come back with a fit, a schedule and a cost, usually within two working days.