Vegan queen Tabitha Brown might soon add Emmy Award-winner to her resumé. That’s because this week, the actress and entrepreneur was nominated for two Emmy awards related to Tab Time, a YouTube Original series focused on early childhood education. Brown is up for an Emmy as the host and the show has also been nominated for a separate Emmy award in the Outstanding Preschool Series category.
“Putting a spotlight on children’s and family programming after years of unparalleled growth in content quality and quantity in this space is an exciting moment for the television industry,” Adam Sharp, President and CEO of the National Academy of TV Arts and Sciences (NATAS), which oversees the Emmys, said in a statement. “These programs entertain, inform, and educate family members of all ages, and NATAS is proud to mark this milestone event and give these creators the stage they deserve.”
Tab Time
The historic Children’s & Family Emmy’s event received 3,000 submissions and Tab Time will compete for an Emmy in its category with AppleTV’s Helpsters; Netflix series Waffles + Mochi (hosted by former first lady Michelle Obama); and HBO Max’s The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo: Game Edition and the iconic Sesame Street.
In the host category, Brown is up against Recker Eans, Dylan Gilmer, Mykal-Michelle Harris, and Olivia Perez of The Tonight Show for Kids; Jack McBrayer of Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show; and Dame Helen Mirren of Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses.
Winners of this inaugural kid-centric Emmys award show will be announced on December 10 and 11 in Los Angeles.
Tab Time teaches kids kindness
The first season of Tab Time premiered on December 1, 2021. Created to help preschoolers develop healthy habits, each episode features a variety of segments with special guests, craft activities, and cooking tutorials focused on plant-based snacks.
“I intentionally make every snack creative and fun using fruits and veggies with the hopes that kids will fall in love with healthy snack options,” Brown previously told VegNews.
The second season of Tab Time–which includes 10, 22-minute long episodes—follows a similar format and was created as part of YouTube’s previously announced $100 million fund earmarked for kids, family, and educational content.
Upon learning about her Emmy nominations, Brown took to social media to share the news with her millions of supporters, taking a few moments to gather her thoughts through her tears of joy.
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“As soon as I hung up, I had to tell the people while it was happening in real time,” Brown said. “It’s so important to share this with y’all because y’all the ones who are making it happen with me so thank you. I gotta call my daddy.”
Tabitha Brown’s vegan legacy
Brown got her start in the vegan food world serendipitously when a video she made of herself eating a TTLA sandwich from Whole Foods Market went viral in 2018. Since then, Brown has catapulted herself to fame across multiple social media platforms where she shares recipes and advice, all with a welcoming approach.
Marcus Owens
In addition to Tab Time, Brown hosted It’s CompliPlated this year, the Food Network’s first vegan cooking show. The actress also appeared on the most recent season of drama series The Chi, all while balancing other projects. These include her vegan restaurant Kale My Name in Los Angeles; a multi-collection launch with Target; and the release of her first cookbook, Cooking from the Spirit.
Brown is also an ambassador for McCormick Seasonings (under which she released her Sunshine Seasoning to sell-out success) and vegan liquid meal company ORRO (where she developed a Pineapple Upside Down Cake flavor).
This week, Brown also announced the release of three limited-edition vegan deodorants—in Citrus & Vetiver, Coconut & Lime and Cedar & Vanilla scents—she created in partnership with Each & Every.
Target
While we await to learn if Brown will win the Emmy awards, the 43-year-old mother of two has already won several other accolades, including an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Social Media Personality in 2021.
Kinder school lunches?
Children who grow up watching Tab Time will learn about vegan food during the show’s cooking segments but will they have access to plant-based meals once school starts?
While meaningful federal legislation has yet to be passed to guarantee that every child has access to a plant-based meal, several regions in the United States have made progress recently.
In California, where Brown resides, the state set aside $700 million of its budget this year to focus on revamping its school lunch program, with a focus on plant-based meals.
New York City is also moving forward on a Plant-Powered Fridays school lunch initiative spearheaded by Mayor Eric L. Adams, a vocal champion of the plant-based diet. Here, television personality and chef Rachael Ray is heading up the city’s first-ever Chef’s Council to create meals that will be tested during the 2022-2023 school year.
And in the middle of the US, Illinois will enact a measure in August 2023 that will give its nearly two million school children access to plant-based meals that meet federal nutrition regulations upon request.
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