Charlie Cart Project Makes Nutrition Education Fun, Free, and Accessible

Kern County children are gaining a new opportunity to learn about healthy eating through hands-on experience with the installation of a Charlie Cart teaching kitchen at the Beale Memorial Library. The mobile cart is designed to help children develop practical cooking skills, learn about nutrition, and understand how food fuels their bodies.

The Charlie Cart Project is a collaboration between Blue Zones Project Bakersfield, the Kern County Library, and the Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS). For the next six weeks, cooking professionals will provide hands-on lessons and cooking demonstrations for kids every Wednesday afternoon inside the Beale Memorial Library. These lessons are free and open to the public.

“Hosting this program at the library ensures that it is accessible, welcoming, and free; removing barriers that often stand in the way of basic health education,” said Karina Funez, policy supervisor for Blue Zones Project Bakersfield. 

The installation was celebrated during a press conference held at the library on Wednesday, which included a live cooking demonstration using the Charlie Cart. Community partners, educators, and library staff gathered to showcase how the program will be used to serve local youth. 

The Charlie Cart is fully equipped with cooking tools and supplies to show children how to safely prepare simple meals while learning about food safety and healthy choices. KCSOS staff will lead interactive lessons using a hands-on cooking curriculum aimed at children of all ages, helping them build confidence and independence in the kitchen.

“There is an empowerment that happens when children get to see how food is made,” said Rafael Juarez, senior director of Food and Nutrition Services for KCSOS. “If we don’t get exposed to the different fruits and vegetables that really help us as we develop, we miss out on necessary nutrition.”

The library is also providing a literacy component to the weekly instruction. Lessons start with story time, with a children’s book corresponding to each cooking demonstration read aloud. Families can then check the books out once the lesson is finished. Library officials said the project aligns naturally with their mission of community empowerment.

“Libraries have always been about more than books; they’re about empowering people,” said Andie Sullivan, director of libraries for the Kern County Library. “The Charlie Cart Project brings real-world culinary skill-building into a library setting, turning knowledge into action and giving young learners practical tools to make healthy choices every day.”

Library leaders emphasized the value of the partnership in connecting education and wellness. Funez says the partnership is a powerful example of how different organizations can unite with a shared mission.

“We are incredibly proud of this collaboration and grateful to the Kern County Library and KCSOS for their leadership, shared goals, and commitment to children and families,” Funez said. “This is how we create a healthier future for Bakersfield.”  

Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez shared how, as a mother, it can be challenging to have these discussions with children about nutrition and physical health. 

“We are taking the steps to address issues of health, issues of obesity. We know that they are prevalent, common, problematic, and almost impossible to talk about,” Perez said. “Thank you for finding creative, healthy, positive ways to help our children deal with the reality that what we eat matters.”  

Juarez said the eventual goal is to launch more Charlie Carts at library branches across Kern County and continue to make a difference in students’ lives long after the six-week pilot program ends. 

“There is a big need in our community, and we’re going to do our very best to fill that need,” he said. “It truly is one child, one family, one community space at a time that we can make a big impact.”

The Charlie Cart Project will continue every Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Beale Memorial Library from now until February 25.