Millions of families across the country rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, to feed their kids. Drastic cuts to SNAP are on the table now as Congress is working on the Farm Bill, legislation that provides funding for SNAP. Share Our Strength is calling on culinary professionals to add their names to a letter urging Congress to protect SNAP and other federal nutrition programs in the Farm Bill. Visit NoKidHungry.org/Chefs-Tell-Congress to sign on by May 30!

Help spread the word to your friends and followers on Twitter and Facebook:

Sample tweet: Chefs, will you sign this letter TODAY & ask Congress to protect #SNAP (food stamps)? http://tinyurl.com/73dnese #nokidhungry #farmbill

Sample facebook post: Calling all culinary professionals! Will you join your peers in asking Congress to protect SNAP (formerly food stamps) and other federal nutrition programs in the Farm Bill? Sign this chef-only letter today! Visit NoKidHungry.org/Chefs-Tell-Congress to sign on by May 30

Share Our Strength, a good friend to The Culinary Trust and an ally in the Chefs Move to Schools Initiative is offering free curriculum and funding for culinary professionals to help teach families how to shop for healthy food on a limited budget.  Share Our Strength’s

Shopping Matters is a key component of the No Kid Hungry Campaign’s strategy by teaching families how to shop for healthy foods on a limited budget. Share Our Strength is pleased to announce a Shopping Matters grant opportunity to organizations who would like to offer tours in their community.  Through June 8th, Share Our Strength will be accepting grant requests to help organizations begin or grow the number of Shopping Matters tours offered in their community. To qualify, you must meet the eligibility and requirements for this grant listed below. We encourage all qualified organizations to apply by clicking on the application link, found at the bottom of this page.  If you have any questions, please feel free to direct them to cookingmattersgrants@strength.org.

Eligibility

Organizations located in No Kid Hungry or Ally states may apply for funding, for a list of states please visit www.shoppingmatters.org

• Organization must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in good standing, or another organization eligible to receive grants and tax-deductible donations (for example, schools and churches or other religious institutions).
• Cooking Matters’ Lead Partners are not eligible for this grant, but we encourage them to share this opportunity with their satellite and community partners.
• Previous Shopping Matters grantees may re-apply.
• Examples of previous grantees: Head Start, WIC clinics, SNAP education programs, community organizations (i.e.: Boys and Girls Club), local hospitals, etc.

Grant Cycle

Share Our Strength will accept applications beginning April 23, 2012 through June 13, 2012. If you are selected for a grant, you will be notified by email by June 29, 2012. The grant cycle will begin on July 2, 2012 and close on November 30, 2012.  Application period opens: April 23rd Application period closes: June 13th Review period: June 11th through June 22nd Notification of award: June 25th through June 29th Checks and award mailed: July 2nd through July 6th Grant cycle begins: July 2nd Grant cycle closes: November 30th

Grant Requirements

Each grantee commits to reaching a minimum of 25 distinct participants through a minimum of three Shopping Matters tours between July 2nd and November 30th.

Each grantee will also:

• Distribute a paper-based post-tour survey to each participant to complete after each tour.
• Distribute a paper-based post-tour evaluation to the facilitator to complete after each tour.
• Return the completed surveys and evaluation forms to Share Our Strength within one week of completing the tour.
• Share tour, dates and locations with Share Our Strength staff in advance and anticipate a tour observation.
• Submit a minimum of five high-resolution photographs of the tours. The photos should encompass: participants comparing food labels, participants comparing unit prices, participants with Shopping Matters-branded materials, participants checking-out with $10 gift card items, facilitators teaching, 
• Submit an expense reporting form at the end of the grant.

Eligible Uses of Funding:

The grant aims to help organizations or individuals develop or grow the number of Shopping Matters tours in their community; therefore, the grant funds may be tailored to fit your organization and community’s needs or particular barriers to implementation. Grant funds may be used to:

• Supplement additional staff time.
• Hire a translator for the tour.
• Offer childcare to participants during the tour.
• Offer transportation to and from the store.
• Print informational and/or recruitment flyers.
• Submit a press release.
• Advertise the tour in local media.
• Provide gas or transportation vouchers to participants
• Provide $10 gift cards to participants to complete the (optional) $10 Challenge (located in the facilitator’s manual).
• Purchase any other incentive items (notes pads for shopping lists, etc.)

Share Our Strength’s Commitment

Share Our Strength will initially send each grantee materials to complete the grant requirements. All Shopping Matters materials are provided free of charge thanks to the generous support of Walmart. 

The grant application can be accessed here.

Visit Share Our Strength’s website for more information

The Culinary Trust is dedicated to preserving culinary heritage, and our newest program, Stories About Food, funded generously through a grant from KitchenAid, reaches across generations to share personal food memories and experiences.  This year, our annual fundraiser partners with the film Today’s Special, to capture food stories both real and imagined.

IACP members who attended the 2010 Annual Conference in Portland may remember that we were treated to a preview of the award-winning film Today’s Special. Starring and co-written by Aasif Mandvi of The Daily Show, it tells the story of Samir, a sous chef who dreams of becoming the head chef at an upscale Manhattan restaurant. When he is passed over for a promotion, he impulsively quits with the intention of going to Paris to  apprentice under a master French chef. Dreams must be put aside though after his father Hakim has a heart attack and Samir is forced to take over Tandoori Palace, the nearly bankrupt family restaurant in Jackson Heights.

Samir’s relationship with his parents and his heritage is immediately put to the test. He has been estranged from his father since the death of his older brother, and his mother Farrida, played by legendary cookbook writer and actress Madhur Jaffrey, is consumed with finding a wife for her remaining son. While Samir is being forced to forsake his dreams, he is desperately trying to master Indian cooking to salvage the family business.

Luckily, he crosses paths with Akbar, a taxi driver, passionate chef, and worldly raconteur (portrayed by Naseeruddin Shah, star of Monsoon Wedding). Akbar inspires Samir and teaches him to trust his senses more than recipes; to stop measuring his life and to start truly living it. With Akbar’s guidance, Samir has a chance to rediscover his heritage and his passion for life through the enchanting art of cooking Indian food.

If you missed the screening in Portland and didn’t catch the movie in theaters, it’s not too late. Today’s Special was just released on demand and on DVD. Or you can watch the trailer here.   And now you can get 20% off the film here by entering the promo code FOODIE20.

This dinner and The Culinary Trust programs are made possible with generous support.

Presenting Sponsor

Supporting Sponsor 

In honor of Howard Deshong

New Zealand Lamb generously donated by The Lamb Cooperative Inc.

For information email info-us@thelambcompany.ca

Produce generously provided by 

Spices generously provided by

 The event venue has been generously donated by

Wine and Spirits have been generously donated by

On Sunday, April 1, The Culinary Trust organized full day of programming to give culinary professionals the tools needed to support Chefs Move to Schools.  We hope to have copies of some of the presentations posted shortly.

Here’s a brief roundup of programming supported by The Culinary trust

• Chefs Move to Schools Welcome – Bill Yosses, White House Executive Pastry Chef
• Food Policy and Feeding Kids:  Healthy eating is more than just personal choice.  Federal policy has an impact , both directly and indirectly on what children eat.  Guests heard how the Farm Bill, Child Nutrition Reauthorization and the USDA show up on the plate.  – Megan Lott, Pew Charitable Trust
• Best practices in getting kids to eat healthy food from three perspectives:  Making Choices for smarter lunchrooms – research supported ideas for low cost/no cost changes that get kids eating healthier – Brian Wansink, Cornell Food Brand Lab, In the Kitchen - A private school chef shares his experiences and recipes for success from the kitchen  – Chef Bobo aka Robert Surles, Calhoun School. Education – Lessons from a New York City public school:  how basic food education can change what kids eat — Healthy eating author Ellie Krieger

Lunch with Bill Telepan

Hundreds of IACP conference attendees partner each year with The Culinary Trust to make a contribution via the Richard Sax Grant to a hunger relief organization in the IACP conference host city.

This year’s Richard Sax Grant recipient is Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger (BSCAH), located in central Brooklyn. Unemployment, under-employment, poverty, and the accompanying inability to buy food continues to plague Bed-Stuy and the rest of central Brooklyn. BSCAH operates NYC’s largest emergency food pantry. Five days a week, New Yorkers in need visit the SuperPantry in search of free food and support services.

BSCAH created a unique food pantry model where food is selected based on client choice and is run much like a supermarket. Their clients are allowed to select fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains along with additional food items according to their preference instead of receiving a pre-packaged pantry bag. Each month, more than 9,000 of Bed-Stuy’s neediest residents receive enough food for nine nutritious meals from the SuperPantry. In 2009, BSCAH distributed meals to feed more than 90,000 individuals.

In 2008, BSCAH  launched Bed-Stuy’s first community-focused urban farm referred to as the Victory Garden. While inner city communities are not known for greenspace, through the help of volunteers and community members, BSCAH converted vacant lots into a productive urban farm yielding thousands of pounds of fresh, organic produce.

BSCAH is proud to be the host for TCT’s pilot of Stories About Food as well as the site for the IACP Kids in the Kitchen hands-on workshop at IACP’s 2012 Annual Conference.  Food for the Kids in the Kitchen program was provided in part by the food pantry and in part from a donation by Fresh Direct.

Please show your support for BSCAH by making a tax-deductible donation to TCT a by making a restricted donation on TCT’s website.

About Richard Sax and the Richard Sax Grant

Richard Sax was an IACP member, a prolific writer who contributed to many leading magazines, and the author of nine cookbooks. He won a James Beard Award and an IACP Julia Child Award for Classic Home Desserts. He was Founding Chef-Director of Food & Wineand a columnist for Bon Appétit. He worked tirelessly for God’s Love We Deliver, an organization that provides food to people housebound with AIDS; the Whole Food Project of Manhattan Center for Living; and The Food and Hunger Hotline. He championed the causes of those who were victims of hunger, homelessness, or prejudice, and devoted passionate energy to many food-related causes. He received the Humanitarian Award from IACP for his charitable work and the prestigious James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award. He died in 1995 at the age of 46.

TCT had a hunger relief fund in place in 1992 as part of its philanthropic outreach. In 1996, after Richard’s death, Harriet Bell, Flo Braker, Barry Estabrook, Roy Finamore, Nick Malgieri, Rux Martin, and Judith Weber, all IACP members, started a fund drive to memorialize him and support the hunger relief cause for which he so actively worked. Attaching Richard’s name to TCT’s hunger relief fund seemed like a perfect fit and made the fund appeal personal. TCT continues to combine interest earned from the fund with donations made by IACP Annual Conference attendees to administer a one-time grant in IACP’s conference host city.

Deadline Extended to March 15, 2012 — The Culinary Trust has been offering scholarships to both entering culinary students and continuing education for culinary professionals since it’s inception, more than 25 years ago.  The culinary profession has changed dramatically over the years.  Back in 1984, when The Culinary Trust was born as the Cooking Advancement Research and Education Foundation, there was an emphasis on setting standards for culinary professionals.  While IACP created the Certified Culinary Professional, The Culinary Trust focused on scholarships that would give culinary professionals the skills needed to meet the CCP standards.  Providing skills, setting standards, and creating recognition for our profession was essential for the industry.

Fast forward, and the industry has arrived – with several different television channels devoted full time to food, numerous other channels include food programming as part of their regular lineup.  Alice Waters’ message has spread across the United States with farmers markets and local food on the center of the plate.  Vocational culinary education is seen as a legitimate career path for high school graduates and chefs around the world are lauded as celebrities.

With the heightened focus on food, the lens has also shifted to where our food comes from, how we eat and the relationship between food and health.  Farmers are taking center stage next to celebrity chefs and organics has taken a huge leap out of the health food store and into the supermarket, reaching more than $26 billions in annual sales.

What does this mean for The Culinary Trust?  For entering culinary students, the need for financial assistance to attend culinary school has never been greater – tuition is up, income is down and the credit crunch has caused a severe contraction in student loan programs.

For culinary professionals, there is an emphasis on how our profession impacts the greater world around us.  Food production has been singled out as a leading cause of global warming, pesticides once thought safe are now considered health risks, and processed foods have been implicated in an obesity epidemic among children.  The culinary community has been forced to look at the health and environmental implications that relate to what we cook and eat.  The Culinary Trust has expanded its scholarship opportunities to address these concerns.

For the first time, the program includes internships for culinary professionals that will provide knowledge and skills so that culinary professionals can make a difference in the world of food.  Seven hands-on internships are available, many with stipends and/or housing, designed for established culinary professionals. Click here for more detailed descriptions. Click here for information on the application. Deadline March 15, 2012.

Kass’ speech was followed by a debate moderated by Kummer, featuring a heavyweight team of Professor Marion Nestle, Chef Bill Telepan, author and culinary historian Betty Fussell and Greenmarket director Michael Hurwitz. Questions were submitted by conference registrants and selected by the conference organizers. Each panelist brought his or her own unique point of view and highlighted challenges faced by both industry and consumers. For example, Fussell provided energy and fuel for the debate with a plea for the Cairo Effect to take hold and usher in changes to our food system. Kummer aptly pushed speakers to share and debate their opinions about difficult issues.

Saturday the crowds dispersed to four New York locations to tackle issues of urban and rural foodways, school food, culinary history and communicating in an electronic and digital age. Highlights included: a tasting of incredible breads baked by Hot Bread Kitchen using heritage grains grown in New York State; star-studded panels discussing the history of foods, markets and ethnicities in New York City; and panel discussions on the shifts in communications leading to new challenges and opportunities for both philanthropic projects and food writers in general. The conference also included an opening and closing reception, providing opportunities for members to connect.

Special thanks to the many members of the food community in New York and beyond who donated their time and knowledge to make these workshops informative, educational and fun.

Joined by renowned chef Tom Colicchio, six “Top Chef” chef’testants and members of the Dallas Cowboys at Kleberg/Rylie Recreation Center in Dallas, Mrs. Obama participated in a “Top Chef”-style cook-off with students from the Dallas Independent School District, which has earned more HealthierUS School Challenge Gold Awards than any other district in the country.

The first lady also unveiled a new Chefs Move to Schools website, www.chefsmovetoschools.org. The site is a one-stop shop for chefs and schools, allowing them to sign up for the program; access training, recipes and resources; and learn how chefs and schools across the country are partnering to create healthier school environments.

“Chefs Move to Schools has been a huge success with thousands of chefs teaming up with schools to prepare healthier meals and teach students about healthy eating, and now we’re excited to take this program to the next level,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “ChefsMoveToSchools.org will make it even easier for chefs to connect with schools and share ideas with each other. So I’m counting on chefs and schools across our country to go to the website, sign up, and start cooking!”

The site was created thanks to a new coalition of leading culinary, nutrition and school organizations that will oversee the Chefs Move to Schools program. Leading the coalition is the American Culinary Federation and School Nutrition Association. Also joining is The Culinary Trust, Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs (BEN), Harvard School of Public Health, International Corporate Chefs Association, SupermarketGuru|The Lempert Report, National Food Service Management Institute, Partnership for a Healthier America, Share Our Strength and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Chefs Move to Schools program began in June 2010 as part of the Let’s Move! initiative, dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation. Through the program, chefs partner with schools in their communities and work with teachers, parents and school nutrition professionals to help educate kids about food and nutrition. The goal of the program is to promote chefs as the catalyst for creating a new nation of child food advocates and start turning the tide on unhealthy eating behaviors.

Approximately 3,400 chefs and 3,350 schools across the nation have signed up for the program to date. Together, chefs and schools have developed gardens, introduced salad bars to cafeterias, created healthier school meal recipes, hosted educational demonstrations and empowered kids with the knowledge they need to make healthy decisions.

Visit www.chefsmovetoschools.org today to learn more or to register as an official participant.

The Culinary Trust provides grants to volunteer chefs participating in the Chefs Move to Schools initiative.  On April 1, 2012, The Culinary Trust is joining with the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) to provide a full day of programming to support culinary professionals working with children.  Workshops include how to prepare the ideal public school meal with Chef Bill Telepan, three approaches to encouraging healthy eating with Brian Wansink, Ellie Krieger and Chef Bobo, nutrition basics for culinary professionals and lesson planning with experts from Columbia University Teacher’s College.