Sprouts Grant Cooks Up Culinary Learning Experience at Cox Elementary

The recipe for success just got a new ingredient!

Cox Elementary was recently selected as a Get Kids Cooking grant recipient for the 2025-26 school year. Out of over 1300 nominations, Cox is one of only 25 schools nationwide selected to participate in the cooking program.

The school plans to use funds from the grant to purchase a portable kitchen and cooking supplies and even grow their own produce in Cox’s garden.

“Cooking involves so many of our subjects -- reading, writing, health, math; we can also bring culture into the cooking lessons,” Principal Krista Wilson said. “We received an additional Sprouts Garden Grant earlier this year, too.”

The funds from these grants will enable the school to enhance its garden and provide fresh ingredients for the cooking program.

Library Specialist Courtney Schreck will lead the cooking program. She is excited to blend her passion for cooking and baking with the joy of learning – right in the Cox Elementary library.

“I grew up with everybody—my Nana and my great aunts—teaching me how to cook and bake,” Schreck said. “I think this is right up my alley. I can turn anything into a library lesson. I am very versatile in finding a book and relating it to a holiday, geography, heritage, just about anything. I’m so excited about this. Library is going to be so different next year!”

As a token of congratulations for receiving the grant, Sprouts will provide lunch to the Cox staff during Teacher Appreciation Week.

“I’m excited about the opportunity for our students to learn about growing food, but also being able to take that into cooking and preparing food themselves,” Wilson said. “It could even spark interest in culinary arts!”

The first classroom cooking lesson will begin in September 2025.

To learn more about Sprouts’ Get Kids Cooking program, visit the Sprouts' school cooking program website.