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Grant Highlight: Days of Taste®

(The Horizon Foundation) -- Days of Taste®, the signature educational program of The American Institute of Wine & Food (AIWF), is a discovery-based program which introduces elementary school children to the basic elements of taste and teaches them how food travels from the farm to the table.  The program brings together chefs, farmers, and volunteers in the community with kids to encourage then to appreciate and enjoy the taste and benefits of fresh food.


The program is provided at no cost to the schools.  The Horizon Foundation awarded AIWF $13,500 to implement Days of Taste® in twelve Howard County schools, and to work with local partner, the Nutrition & Physical Activity Coalition of Howard County (NPAC), to build a sustainable Days of Taste® program throughout The County.

The progression of the program is as follows:

Day 1 – students learn the basics of taste and nutrition.  In the classroom, students do hands-on (and “tastebuds-on”) activities to evaluate diverse foods and experience the four traditional elements of taste – salty, sour, bitter, and sweet.  The concept of balance in foods, for good nutrition and good taste is introduced.

Day 2 – students take a trip to a nearby farm.  Guided by the farmer, students see first-hand how vegetables are grown or how animals are raised, and how the food is prepared and delivered for delivery to the market. 

Day 3 – students prepare a salad and dressing with a professional chef.  Back in the classroom, students make their own fresh harvest salad and vinaigrette dressing, using seasonal vegetables and fruit, and begin to recognize the balance of the ingredients. 

Riva Eichner Kahn, Days of Taste® Chair, American Institute of Wine & Food Board member, says, "The Horizon Foundation grant has played a critical role for Days of Taste® in Howard County.  The funding afforded the opportunity to provide Days of Taste® to several Howard County elementary schools each semester rather than only one or two schools per year.  The grant also has allowed us to focus on making improvements to the program and refining the curriculum for the benefit of the students, rather than spend time and resources searching for sufficient funding.  The two-year time frame has given us time to work on the key elements for a sustainable Days of Taste® program - building a volunteer base, developing relationships with local farmers and chefs, collaborating with the Howard County Public School System and other community groups with similar goals, and establishing a track record to secure long-term funding."

Parents, teachers and students all agree: by exposing students to the lifecycle of their food, and working with a professional chef to identify tastes and prepare a dish with fresh ingredients, a unique appreciation develops. 

From a parent of Days of Taste® student:

"Despite many pleadings from me as his father, I have never been able to get my oldest son to eat salad or a vinaigrette…..  At the Days of Taste 3rd day salad preparation, my son not only ate his first serving, but went back for more.  And this was spring mix in a soy-lemon-honey vinaigrette.  Never in a million years would he have enthusiastically eaten that salad for me at home or at a restaurant.  But because he had been given the chance to understand the source of what he was eating, he was given the chance to help prepare it in a fun environment with his friends, and he was instructed by a "real chef", there was a credibility and excitement that I, as a parent, could not match at home."

From a teacher of Days of Taste® class:

"All of the students try foods that are new or different to them.  They are surprised by how much they like these new foods.  Last year, my students wrote down the ingredients in their dressings and shared them with each other so that they could try the different dressings at home. This is powerful!  The children are taking charge of changing their eating habits for the better.  The value of this program cannot be overstated.  In just 3 day, through the variety of experiences, the children learn valuable lessons on how to improve their eating habits, how to help local farmers and how to lessen their carbon footprint."

From Days of Taste® students:

"My favorite part of Days of Taste is the first day because we got to taste stuff.  I learned that you want to balance your food and don’t soak salad in ranch."  (Bollman Bridge fourth grader)

"My favorite time was the trip to the farm to see the different animals like a baby bull and cows and how they transfer the milk to tanks.  We went in the milking area and it was pretty cool because they put tubes on the cow’s udder to get milk.  I never ever knew the daddy cow was a bull!  I wonder how big a bull can get…" (Deep Run fourth grader)

"I liked the field trip because I got to learn things I never knew before.  I learned that there were different types of potatoes.  There were different tools to garden too.  We went to a greenhouse.  I learned that the greenhouse absorbs more heat than outside.  As a result, the food is healthy!"  (Swansfield fourth grader)

"My favorite part of Days of Taste was making the salad.  I liked pouring in the ingredients…. Our salad tasted really good.   I can’t wait to make it at home!  I think my family will like it as well." (Deep Run fourth grader)

The Days of Taste program continues into this semester and will be in Deep Run, Swansfield and Talbott Springs elementary schools this Spring.