The Real Looming Financial Crisis: Health Costs for Poor Kids

About This Episode

How are we helping our kids succeed against formidable odds? Change agents chef Alex Guarnaschelli (Chopped, Iron Chef) and nonprofit leader Howell Wechsler (Alliance for A Healthier Generation) share how they are working to end child hunger in this episode of Add Passion and Stir. “There isn’t any reason why a child should lose their right to become an adult,” says Guarnaschelli, who spends considerable time, energy and social capital working for causes like No Kid Hungry and City Harvest. “If we had more celebrity chefs doing this, we would have a tremendous impact,” says Wechsler. The Alliance for a Healthier Generation is focused on ending the childhood obesity epidemic in America, which Wechsler calls a “disaster for our country.” With 1 in 3 kids obese or overweight, the health costs alone are staggering. “We’re going to bankrupt ourselves as a nation,” he says. The Alliance helps establish and enforce federal nutrition standards for school food, including a new tool on Amazon that enables schools to purchase food that meets these standards. Guarnaschelli raises money and awareness for causes that are meaningful for her. “I like this concept of working with organizations with ‘end’ in their mission statement,” she says. She leverages her celebrity for these causes. “I always say that being a chef is 93% social and 7% produce.” Be inspired by how these guests are changing the world for our next generation.