San Francisco Giants Outfielder Hunter Pence Co-Hosts Cooking Class for Kids at AT&T Park

San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence and his wife, Alexis Pence, co-owner of Coral Sword Café, teamed up with Bon Appétit Management Company’s culinary education program, Healthy Kids in the Bon Appétit Kitchen, and No Kid Hungry, a national campaign to end childhood hunger in America, for a fun, hands-on nutrition education class with local children at The Garden at AT&T Park.

About 20 third- to fifth-graders from Marshall Elementary joined Garden at AT&T Park Program Manager Sam Wilder in a hands-on lessons in edible plant parts, followed by a garden scavenger hunt for key ingredients and a nutrition discussion with educators from 18 Reasons’ nutrition education program, Cooking Matters, and Hunter and Alexis about how healthy food helps you play as hard as you can.

The Pences joined Bay Area culinary talents Bon Appétit’s Executive Chef of Concessions at AT&T Park, Toussaint Potter, and Chef Thomas Weibull of Dirty Habit for an interactive cooking experience that taught the kids how to prepare vegetable pizzas with garden-fresh ingredients — including Hunter’s favorite, kale! — and rainbow fruit salad with peaches, strawberries, blueberries, and more. While the pizzas were cooking, Hunter signed special Giants baseball hats for all the kids.

The first incarnation of Bon Appétit’s food literacy program for kids was launched 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. It has since traveled beyond the ballpark to more than 50 of Bon Appétit’s client campuses around the country, from Adobe’s corporate headquarters in San Jose, CA, to Furman University in Greenville, SC.

Hunter has been a supporter of the Garden and the children’s nutrition education program since it opened. He and Alexis are also members of the No Kids Hungry Influencer Council, supporting the campaign’s work to end childhood hunger in America through programs like school breakfast, summer meals, and nutrition education.

“Access to healthy food is critical to kids’ success in the classroom and beyond. When kids get the food they need, they thrive,” said Hunter. “Alexis and I are proud to collaborate with No Kid Hungry and Bon Appétit to host these amazing kids for an afternoon of fun in the kitchen.”