Kids learn about healthy food with local chef

BALTIMORE, Md. - It is not your average classroom for students at Calvin Rodwell Elementary School.  Students are in the kitchen learning how to eat and cook healthy meals.

Thanks to Chef Connie Johnson, students are learning about proper nutrition.

"A healthy lifestyle is very important in education because if you are not healthy and you are weighed down from obesity, it affects how we study and how we learn," said Chef Connie Johnson, Culinary Art Director for Calvin Rodwell Elementary School.

Students are preparing salmon and brussel sprouts.

"It feels good because when I see people eat the food and they say it tastes good. It's like when I cooked it, they liked it," said Kaaliyah Johnson, daughter of Connie Johnson and student at Calvin Rodwell Elementary School.

Chef Connie started as a volunteer at the school after her 17-year-old daughter died from an asthma attack.  Her daughter motivated her to help other children.

"My daughter before her death started to become a little heavy and at that time, I wasn't into healthy cooking.  I was a soul food chef.  She really opened my eyes because I have four other children who are much younger.  I started changing the way I cooked," said Chef Connie Johnson.

Soon administrators at Calvin Rodwell realized all students should be educated in healthy nutrition.  Chef Connie started a Culinary Arts Program called Vegetable Time followed by a student catering service.

The program is working.  Some students including her daughter have lost weight and learned to eat healthy.

"I think it can help other children learn to eat healthy instead of sit on the couch and eat food all day," said Anjuan Collins Jr, student at Calvin Rodwell Elementary School.

"Before I used to eat a lot of unhealthy food, but now I eat a lot of healthy food because the program has inspired me to eat healthy food," said Kaaliyah Johnson.

The Vegetable Time program is not only getting the message out about healthy eating on a local level, but it's also going national.  Chef Connie has been approached to do a Culinary Reality TV Series with students.

It's called Chefs Angels.  Each show will address a different health concern.

"It's rewarding to me to know that in her death something positive has come out of it. I know she is looking down on me right now saying good job mom," said Chef Connie Johnson.

"I feel good because when she died I thought my mother was just going to sit around, but instead she made a program about her and it makes me feel good," said Kaaliyah Johnson.

Chef Connie hopes to help children live a long and healthy life.