Giving Compass' Take:

• The Emeril Lagasse Foundation's new national initiative is designed to educate elementary and middle school children through culinary gardens and teaching kitchens as part of an interactive curriculum.

• Will this inspire more celebrity chefs to strive to educate our youth on the importance of agriculture and nutrition?

• Here's another example of the importance of teaching children about earthly issues.

A school kitchen menu might not be the first place you’d expect to find Emeril Lagasse’s andouille-crusted redfish or double-cut pork chops, but many of the celebrity chef’s signature recipes will soon be making their way to the schoolyard — albeit with a slightly healthier and more kid-friendly focus.

Emeril’s Culinary Garden and Teaching Kitchen, a new initiative from the celebrity chef's charitable foundation, aims to help schools with the funding needed to integrate culinary gardens and teaching kitchens as part of an interactive curriculum that meets national standards.

The program is designed to introduce elementary- and middle-school-age children to the world of food by integrating gardening and cooking concepts in the classroom while at the same time teaching them valuable life skills.

Read the full article about Emeril's new foundation's initiative by Helen Freund at The New Orleans Advocate