Since 2024, the annual Climate Kitchen Summer Institute has served as an incubator for innovative research projects addressing shortfalls in our current food system. Applying the principles of design thinking and emergent inquiry, interdisciplinary teams including faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students have explored feasibility and sensory preferences alternative protein sources, culturally appropriate foods, nutrient-dense whole grains, and native, edible plants.  

The Climate Kitchen Summer Institute is funded by the UVM Food Systems Research Institute. 

The Climate Kitchen sponsors courses at the undergraduate and graduate level that teach students necessary skills and concepts – in kitchens and beyond - that can address individual and planetary health. 

The Climate Kitchen courses integrate the sustainability tenets of the Climate Kitchen throughout the curriculum: plant forward, integrating tastes and habits, low waste, whole food utilization and regional/local sourcing. The undergraduate course, Foods for Planetary Health, combines in-person lectures and labs and is offered by the Nutrition and Food Sciences department. The graduate course, Cooking for Individual and Planetary Health, is an all-online course.

The Climate Kitchen, in collaboration with the Culinary Medicine program at UVM Medical Center and the Osher Center for Integrative Health, has developed learning modules that explore key concepts for future professionals in nutrition and health science that will be used across University of Vermont and University of Vermont Medical Center. 

The Climate Kitchen hosts workshops, training, and cooking classes in collaboration with our partners. These events utilize inquiry-based learning to guide participants through the practical application of the Climate Kitchen tenets in the kitchen through hands-on cooking and activities. Some past examples include:

• Design Thinking workshop with Felipe Massa (Grossman School of Business, UVM)
• John Dewey’s Kitchen workshop with Lisa Heldke (Gustavus Adolphus College)
• Baking with Whole Grains workshop with King Arthur Baking
• Mindfulness in the Kitchen for UVM Go and CNHS courses
• Farm to Kitchen for UVM Go and 4-H in partnership with the Association of Africans Living in Vermont

Each summer, the Climate Kitchen holds an introductory workshop for the current Summer Research Institute cohort, introducing researchers to the principles of Climate Kitchen. This workshop covers Design Thinking and Dewey model principles, as well as opportunities for participants to apply these approaches through hands-on cooking activities. They are also introduced to the basics of sensory analysis. The research teams also present their projects to the group and the Climate Kitchen team for feedback.