What We’re About

I’m Phil Gutensohn, the Executive Director of the Future Cooks Initiative (and the guy holding the chicken by the neck if you scroll down on this page).  It’s been brought to my attention that readers don’t necessarily click on “About” tabs to learn about a blog.  Fair enough.  I’m new to this medium and hope you forgive the oversight. Following is a thumbnail sketch of what The Lunch Box is about…

The Lunch Box is the online presence of The International Culinary Center’s new non-profit, The Future Cooks Initiative.  Our conversation is going to be about helping kids develop healthier, more responsible eating habits. We’re going to focus on real world, scalable programming, and share information on programs we’re active in.

We know the problem.  Childhood obesity is on the rise and chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes are affecting younger populations.  You’ve probably heard it before, but if these trends continue, this will be the first generation of Americans to have shorter lifespan than their parents.

At The Future Cooks Initiative we believe we can do better right now, with this generation.  It’s going to take work, and The Lunch Box is our way of not just letting you know what we’re doing in this food fight, but engaging the talents of our students, alumni, and the wider culinary community to find answers that work.