Six Food Heroes activations across North America teach more than 230 children how to reduce food waste, eat healthier
Electrolux Group is celebrating World Food Day by hosting close to 120 fourth graders from Mallard Creek STEM Academy for hands-on Food Heroes workshops today in its Charlotte Headquarters, teaching kids real-life skills for reducing food waste and eating well at home.
Students learned how to choose seasonal produce, store leftovers safely and understand how their own daily choices reduce household food waste. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates the average U.S. household of four throws away nearly $3,000 worth of food a year, about $60 a week.* Food Heroes is built to chip away at that number early, as healthy habits set in.
The Charlotte event was one of six World Food Day Food Heroes workshops Electrolux Group hosted this week across North America. Together, the events reached 234 students, including 120 in Charlotte and 114 more at three additional workshop locations:
- Springfield cooking factory partnered with C3 Homeschool Co-op to bring the Food Heroes program to life.
- Kinston dish factory helped fifth grade students at Contentnea-Savannah K-8 School earn their capes.
- Juarez fabric care campus collaborated with Colegio Independencia, a local elementary school, to teach students how to make healthy food choices at home and at school.
The Food Heroes program is part of the Electrolux Food Foundation's push to educate 1 million children and adults on sustainable cooking and food waste reduction by 2030. This mission resonates deeply with the Zealous Empowering Nurturer (ZEN) program at Mallard Creek STEM Academy, which brings hands-on gardening and food education directly into the classroom.
“Seeing these fourth graders become Food Heroes shows how much a simple lesson can stick,” said Patrick Minogue, head of Region North America for Electrolux Group. “It’s the kind of learning that goes home with them and sparks conversations at the dinner table.”
“Our students loved getting to be the experts today,” said April Booker, founder and executive director of ZEN and teacher at Mallard Creek STEM Academy. “Giving kids confidence in the kitchen builds healthy habits that carry into the rest of their lives.”
The Food Heroes toolkit, free for classrooms, community groups or families, is available here.
*Source: EPA article from March 18, 2026: Estimating the Cost of Food Waste to American Consumers
