Some young chefs have a recipe for a healthy future. On the menu today? Sweet potato tacos with a side of mango salsa, topped off with a lesson in nutrition.
Julia Winsor is a long-serving volunteer with City Harvest, the city's largest food rescue non-profit.
"When you're a child, you're definitely developing your palate and if you aren't exposed to a variety of fruits and vegetables, it's probably not going to happen when you're older," Winsor said.
City Harvest has long been known for providing food to those in need. But it also teaches them how to turn that food into healthy meals.
That's where Winsor steps in.
The dietician helps run some of the non-profit's "Cooking Matters Courses."
Winsor spends most weekends in community centers across the five boroughs teaching children - and their parents - how to make sense of nutrition labels and how to make better choices in the grocery aisle.
"City Harvest really picks up that burden and helps people have the tools and resources to have healthy food and nutritious behaviors," Winsor said.
Winsor's goal is to expose children to foods they may have never tried before and to make cooking those foods fun.
"Julia, as someone who is studying nutirion, she is someone who has that expertise that can really help those that we serve with that knowledge and skills they need to make healthier choices when they're shopping for their families. We couldn't do these classes without people like her," said City Harvest Program Manager Jenny Furman.
Winsor says she learns just as much as she teaches every time she steps into the kitchen with these kids.
"I learned through City Harvest that there is so much more to know about food and nutrition and it's a journey for everyone," Winsor said.
So for helping to fuel a healthy future for these kids, Julia Winsor is our New Yorker of the Week.