“Our world is a large quilt and its people are the fabric – colorful swatches of beautifully woven material – all joined together by these common threads — family and food.”
– Chef Art Smith, Co-Founder
Through the simple process of preparing and sharing a nutritious meal, children who participate in our programs learn to connect with art, neighbors, cultures and their world in bite-sized lessons.
Chef Art Smith created Common Threads in 2003 to educate children on cultural diversity, nutrition and physical well-being through cooking and the arts.
By teaching low-income children to cook wholesome and affordable meals, we can help prevent childhood obesity and reverse the trend of generations of non-cookers, while celebrating our cultural differences and the things people all over the world have in common.
Our mission is to educate children on the importance of nutrition and physical well-being, and to foster an appreciation of cultural diversity through cooking. We help bridge cultural boundaries and strengthen our global family by teaching children about their similarities and differences in the warm comfort of the kitchen.