Frequently Asked Questions

All Brainfood programs are free of charge to students who live or go to school in DC. Students do not receive a stipend or pay to attend Brainfood programs, but students may receive community service hours for participation.

Brainfood currently runs two programs during the year - Brainfood After School and Brainfood Summer Institute. From October to May, Brainfood After School meets Monday through Friday afternoons. Participants, recruited from area high schools, participate in Brainfood After School, which uses experiential learning activities such as kitchen labs and field trips to help students build valuable life skills. From June to August, Brainfood runs a more intensive six week program for high school students, which incorporates cooking, meal planning, shopping and physical activity. Brainfood Summer Institute meets Monday through Friday from morning to early afternoon.

Founded in 1998, Brainfood is a community-based youth development organization that uses food as a tool to build life skills with DC youth in a fun and creative setting. Through culinary-related activities we strive to expand cognitive skills, encourage creativity, foster self-reliance and empower youth as resources in their own community. After nine years of operation, we are now running programs in two DC facilities (Columbia Heights and Chinatown), with expected additional expansion.