Children’s Bureau to Honor Bon Appétit CEO Fedele Bauccio at Annual Gala

Fedele Bauccio in Garden at AT&T Park

Southern California nonprofit recognizes a national for-profit leader for supporting kids’ healthy eating habits

PALO ALTO (October 25, 2018)Children’s Bureau, a nonprofit leader in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect in Southern California, will host its annual Blue Tie Gala on November 3 at the Museum of Flying in Santa Monica. This year’s Blue Tie Gala will honor Bon Appétit Management Company CEO Fedele Bauccio, for his work to instill healthy eating habits in America’s children and for his support over the years of Children’s Bureau.

Fedele launched the first incarnation of Bon Appétit’s food literacy program for kids in 2015 as the Outdoor Classroom for Kids at the Garden at AT&T Park in San Francisco, in partnership with the San Francisco Giants. A year and 5,000 kids later, Bon Appétit expanded the program beyond the ballpark, as Healthy Kids in the Bon Appétit Kitchen. Since 2016, Healthy Kids has since traveled to more than 60 of Bon Appétit’s client campuses around the country, including holding classes at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in Pasadena, CA, and other locations in Southern California. Healthy Kids staff and Bon Appétit chefs have led an additional 2,500 children in hands-on lessons in edible plant parts, taste-testing unfamiliar fruits or vegetables, knife safety, and making a couple of simple healthy recipes together. In October, Healthy Kids and Children’s Bureau partnered for a special class with local children at the Children’s Bureau offices in downtown LA.

“Teaching kids at an early age about where food comes from and what it does to your body — and how eating healthy is good for your body and helps you grow — builds healthy food habits that can last a lifetime,” Bauccio explains.

Food literacy and healthy eating are among the vital resources that Children’s Bureau offers its participating families and communities. The latest obesity statistics from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System in June 2018 rank California 22 of 43 states with a high school obesity rate of 13.9 percent, and 31.2 percent obesity rate for the 10-17-year-old demographic.  According to the Los Angeles Food Bank, Latinos make up over two-thirds (67.4 percent) of food insecure households in Los Angeles (versus 12.3 percent of all U.S. households) which means they face barriers at some time during the year to purchase healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, lean meats and foods high in fiber. As a result, these households are more susceptible to chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and many types of cancer.

Healthy Kids class

The Bon Appétit Healthy Kids team hosted a special class at the Children’s Bureau center in downtown Los Angeles

“Child abuse is connected to many of today’s social ills, including obesity and diabetes. Support from generous food industry leaders like Fedele is helping to change that trajectory for the next generation,” said Children’s Bureau President & CEO Ronald Brown.

The Blue Tie Gala, with the color blue representing the national color of child abuse prevention, will feature a formal multi-course dinner, prepared by acclaimed chefs, paired with world-class wines, an auction offering luxury items, entertainment, dancing and more. Over the years, the Children’s Bureau’s annual fundraiser has raised over $2.2 million to support its mission. Every year, Bon Appétit Management Company underwrites the cost of rentals, waiting staff and food estimated at many thousands of dollars in event cost-savings for Children’s Bureau. Bauccio’s support has ensured that Children’s Bureau raises the essential dollars needed to underwrite its child abuse prevention programs.

Tickets to the Blue Tie Gala are $350 per person. For ticket purchase or sponsorship information, please visit https://www.all4kids.org/bluetiegala.

 

About Children’s Bureau

Since 1904, Children’s Bureau (www.all4kids.org) has been a nonprofit leader in protecting vulnerable children through prevention, treatment and advocacy. The agency is unique in that it focuses on three key areas for creating impact: strengthening families and communities, building peer capacity and transforming systems and communities.  Children’s Bureau helps 40,000 children and parents each year throughout Southern California with services that include school readiness, parenting classes, family resource centers, support groups, mental health counseling, foster care, foster-adoption and more.  Children’s Bureau is one of the largest investors in child abuse prevention in the country and is developing a national model to transform an entire at-risk community through its Magnolia Community Initiative.

About Bon Appétit

Bon Appétit Management Company (www.bamco.com) is an on-site restaurant company operating 1,000-plus locations in 33 states for corporations, universities, and museums. Bon Appétit chefs cook from scratch, including sauces, stocks, and soups. The Palo Alto–based food service company is a recognized industry leader in environmentally and socially responsible practices, with awards from organizations including the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, Acterra, James Beard Foundation, and many others.