FLIPANY (Florida Introduces Physical Activity and Nutrition to Youth)

10/03/2026

Please welcome back Chef Aaron Dreilinger as our 8th Chefs Up Front chef! 👨‍🍳💚

Aaron grew up in Washington, D.C., and has spent more than 25 years cooking his way around the world. He led culinary for Celebrity Cruises, opened Alluva restaurants in South Beach, Coconut Grove, and Fort Lauderdale, and today serves as Senior Director of Dining Services with Morrison Living at Miami Jewish Health. There, he brings restaurant-quality meals and real hospitality to seniors every day.

His cooking pulls from everywhere he's been: tropical Asian, Indian, Latin American, Israeli, Mediterranean, and Eastern European flavors, all grounded in classic Americana. As Aaron puts it, great hospitality is about more than what's on the plate. It's about food that connects people across cultures and generations.

That's exactly what Chefs Up Front is all about. Aaron is a longtime supporter of this event, and we're so grateful to have him cooking with us again.

10/02/2026

Our Chefs Up Front lineup is almost complete, and Chef #8 is someone our longtime guests may already know. 👨‍🍳

He's spent more than 25 years in kitchens around the world, from cruise ships to restaurants he built himself, and his cooking brings together flavors from across the globe in a way that feels exciting and like home at the same time.

Think you know who it is? Tell us in the comments! We'll reveal him soon.

Join us Oct. 16 at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort for an evening of incredible food that helps FLIPANY bring healthy meals and nutrition education to kids and seniors across South Florida.

10/01/2026

SAVE THE DATE! The FLIPANY 5K Fun Run is back — Saturday, February 6, 2027 at Markham Park, 16001 W. State Rd. 84 in Sunrise.

🕗 Registration & breakfast open at 8:00 AM
🏁 5K starts at 9:00 AM
🎽 Registration includes a free breakfast and t-shirt

Whether you run it, walk it, or push a stroller the whole way, this morning brings 500+ neighbors together to support FLIPANY's work expanding access to healthy food, nutrition education and wellness programs across South Florida.

Registration opens later this month. Mark your calendar and start rounding up your team! 💚

09/30/2026

Check it out! New CDC data just confirmed something we see in our classrooms every week: when kids learn to love fruits, veggies, and moving their bodies, the ripple effects are huge ➡️ better mood, better focus, better everything. 🍎⚽

More teens are eating produce daily and playing on sports teams than just two years ago. That's the whole point of what we do at FLIPANY, teaching kids the habits that stick for life. Progress is possible. We're proud to be part of it. "

CDC Data Show Encouraging Progress in Youth Health

09/30/2026

CHEF #7: EXECUTIVE CHEF DIEGO MALAVE, B OCEAN RESORT FORT LAUDERDALE

Welcome to Chefs Up Front, Chef Diego.

Chef Diego Malave leads the culinary program at B Ocean Resort Fort Lauderdale — including the creative direction of the legendary Wreck Bar, where people have been watching mermaids swim past the portholes since the 1950s. Yes. That Wreck Bar. His path here is a whole map. Born in Venezuela. Cooked in Peru. Then kitchens across the United States — luxury hotels, high-volume operations, Michelin-starred rooms — each one leaving something behind in how he cooks. What comes out of that is food with three passports: Latin American heritage, contemporary American cuisine, and European technique. Precision and bold flavor at the same time, which is harder than it sounds. And in 2024, South Florida voted him People's Choice at The Grand Tasting Fort Lauderdale. Not a panel. A room full of people who tasted everything and picked him.

On October 16, he'll be cooking at a table at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort.

09/29/2026

Chef #7 for Chefs Up Front 2026 is confirmed.

Here's your clue: South Florida already voted for him.

Not a panel. Not a critic. An actual room full of people at one of the biggest tastings in Fort Lauderdale, handed a ballot, who picked his plate. He got here by way of Venezuela, Peru, and a run of kitchens most chefs only read about. Today he runs one of the most recognizable rooms on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Full reveal tomorrow morning.

09/29/2026

Day One of CATCH Kids Club Training was a blast! Our biggest takeaway? Learning is best when it’s FUN! 🎉

CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) gives educators the tools to build healthier, happier environments for kids because when you change the environment, positive behaviors follow!

A huge thank you to our inspiring trainer, Joey Walker (CATCH Global Foundation) and to Children's Services Council of Broward County for making this possible. Sunview Park in Ft. Lauderdale was the perfect place to kick things off!

Swipe to see the smiles. Do we look like we had fun? 😄

09/24/2026

Pennsylvania just made daily recess the law for elementary kids because movement isn't a break from learning, it's part of it. 🏃🧡 At FLIPANY, we know healthy kids need BOTH nutritious food and time to move and play. That's why our wellness programs focus on both.
What's your kid's favorite way to get moving? Tell us below! 👇

09/23/2026

September is National Family Meals Month!

The research on family meals is consistent and kind of remarkable: kids who eat regularly with family do better nutritionally, academically, and emotionally. It's one of the highest-return, lowest-cost things a household can do.

What's the one recipe your family will not let you stop making?

09/20/2026

Say hello to Chef Will Garcia, our newest Chefs Up Front star. Chef Will grew up in Nicaragua and trained at Le Cordon Bleu, but his story really started with a high school cooking competition. One teenager, one spark, and suddenly a whole new world opened up. Now he runs the kitchen at Olive & Sea in Fort Lauderdale, serving up bold Mediterranean flavors and plates that look almost too good to eat. But what we love most? Chef Will is all about lifting others up. He mentors his team, helps new talent shine, and makes his kitchen a place where people grow. That’s what we do, too. Every week, we hand kids in South Florida real ingredients, real tools, and a chance to discover what food can do for them. Maybe the next Chef Will is out there, just waiting for that first taste of possibility. Want to meet him? He’ll be cooking at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort on October 16. Grab your ticket: https://ChefsUpFront.org