Chicago food advocate advances in national Favorite Chef contest

Chicago nonprofit founder Jeannette Barcelos Kravitz has reached the voting round of the national Favorite Chef competition, with a chance to win $25,000, cook with Carla Hall and appear in Taste of Home Magazine. Kravitz says the contest is a platform to talk about family, food security and climate-linked food systems as Chicago prepares for its first Climate Week.

Why it matters: - Jeannette Barcelos Kravitz is using a cooking contest to spotlight food security, regenerative agriculture and community resilience. - A win would send prize money into EarthSTARS.earth programs that use music, storytelling and community engagement to discuss food systems. - The contest also lands as Chicago prepares for its first Chicago Climate Week, July 18–25, and Illinois expands climate education in public schools this fall.

What happened: - Chicago resident Jeannette Barcelos Kravitz is competing in the national Favorite Chef competition and has advanced into the voting rounds. - The prize package includes $25,000, a cooking experience with Chef Carla Hall and a feature in Taste of Home Magazine. - Kravitz is the founder of sponsorKIDS Charities and EarthSTARS.earth.

The details: - Kravitz has spent more than two decades building programs that bring people together through storytelling, education, music, culture and community engagement. - EarthSTARS.earth uses music, storytelling and youth engagement to raise awareness of food security, healthy soils, regenerative agriculture and community resilience. - Kravitz said the competition is about family, connection, memories and community, and that some of life's most important conversations happen around a table. - Kravitz said climate is tied to food, farms, soil, food security and the future. - Kravitz said the idea to enter came from a late-night Facebook scroll after thinking about Chicago's first Climate Week. - Kravitz learned a week later that she had been selected to compete.

Between the lines: - The contest gives Kravitz a mainstream platform to connect climate education with everyday home cooking and family life. - The timing gives her a way to link a personal, food-focused competition with broader civic conversations already building in Chicago. - Carla Hall's quote reinforces the contest's emphasis on home cooking, family connection and meals as a social bridge.

What's next: - Voting will determine whether Kravitz wins the contest and its prize package. - If she wins, Kravitz plans to direct the funds toward EarthSTARS.earth programming. - Kravitz is encouraging supporters to vote for her in the competition: Vote for Jeannette.

The bottom line: - Kravitz is turning a cooking competition into a pitch for food security, climate awareness and stronger community ties.