Jessica Prentice facts for kids

Jessica Prentice is a chef and author who helped start a special kitchen called Three Stone Hearth in Berkeley, California. She is famous for creating the word locavore. Being a locavore means trying to eat food that is grown or made close to where you live. This often means food from within about 100 miles.

Early Life and Career

Jessica Prentice was an actress when she was younger. She played a character named Pepper McKenzie on a children's TV show called Powerhouse. This show was on PBS in 1982 and later shown again on Nickelodeon.

Her interest in food started when she was 14 years old. At that age, she decided to become a vegetarian. Later, she began eating meat again. She also worked in San Francisco, helping to teach people about farming that is good for the environment.

In 1996, Jessica finished her training to become a professional chef. She studied at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City.

Promoting Local Food

Jessica Prentice has become a well-known supporter of eating local foods. She believes it's important to help people understand where their food comes from. She sees this as a way to make people more aware of food issues.

She helped create the Three Stone Hearth project in Berkeley, California. This project makes home-cooked meals for people who are too busy to cook every day. The idea has grown and inspired similar projects in other states and even in Canada.

Jessica also wrote a book called Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection. This book has essays that explain why eating local food is a good idea. It also includes recipes for seasonal foods that match the 13 lunar months of the year.