6-year-old's cookbook idea helps raise $20,000 to feed the hungry

Carson Pazdan of Barrington may only be in kindergarten, but already he likes to experiment in the kitchen. Most nights, he helps his mother Alyssa make dinner.

"I love to cook," he says.

Those evenings spent in the kitchen led to frequent discussions with his mother about food and eventually about hunger.

Roughly a year ago, Carson decided he wanted to help provide food for other children. Working with his mother, he came up with the idea of a children's cookbook as a fundraiser that would feature recipes submitted mostly by kids and would be geared toward beginner cooks.

"I just want to feed all of the hungry children," Carson said of the project, which has raised more than $20,000 to help feed hungry kids.

Carson and his mother sought recipes from his school community, Countryside Elementary School in Barrington, as well as from their neighborhood, family and friends. They wrote away to celebrities and received recipes back from the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Maria Shriver, Chris O'Donnell and Sean Hayes.

In the end, they compiled more than 800 recipes - enough to fill a "Kids Feeding Kids" cookbook, with sections on appetizers and beverages, soups and salads, vegetables and side dishes, main dish entrees, bread and rolls, desserts, and cookies and candy.

Their cookbook sold like hot cakes at retail outlets in Barrington, at special events and online, where it costs $20 at kidsfeedingkids.info, a Web site they've formed encouraging kids to join in efforts to help feed the hungry. In five months, they've sold nearly 2,000 copies.

The pint-size cookbook features Carson on the cover in front of some of his specially designed cupcakes. One of his original recipes is for a bon appétit sandwich, which dresses up traditional bologna and cheese by putting it inside a bagel, with chips and sunflower seeds and surrounded by mandarin orange segments.

"It's really crunchy," Carson says.

He and his mother earmarked 100 percent of their proceeds to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, and in particular their youth nutrition program.

On Tuesday, Carson and his mother presented a check for $20,107.31 to representatives from the Food Bank during an early morning assembly at his school.

"Each one of you is brilliant and every one of you can make a difference," Alyssa Pazdan said to the students. "Have an idea, take action and make a difference."

Jarrod Naab, associated development director of the Northern Illinois Food Bank, said the donation would help fund after school snack, supper and backpack programs, as well as breakfast and lunch programs during the summer.

These youth nutrition programs feed more than 3,000 children a day during the year through their 80 sites in 13 counties in Northern Illinois.

"It might be hard for us to believe, but there are hungry people in our area," Naab told the more than 400 students. "A lot of people struggle to put food on the table."