Over 16 million children in the United States experience hunger. Common Threads is helping lead the way to empower and educate children across the country. Recently, Linda Novick O'Keefe, the founding CEO of Common Threads joined Chef Jaime Laurita and me for a Kitchen Chat in the Middleby Residential Showroom in Chicago's Merchandise Mart. Linda shared with us her passion for educating school age children on how to prepare healthy affordable meals. She also discussed how Chef Art Smith (Oprah's award-winning personal chef) experienced the power of bringing people to the table while cooking for families impacted after 9/11 in New York City. They felt the power of using food for change and education. Common Threads was born as a result of the experiences with these families in need.