Donna Gershenwald

Avid cook, Donna Gershenwald frequents the MidTown Farmer's markets where in 2005 she overheard Monica Pope discussing a nascent program using local chefs in classrooms teaching kids to cook. Gershenwald remembers, "I thought the concept was tremendous".  She volunteered for the first RFS cooking class at MacGregor Elementary with Chef Monica Pope in September 2006 and has returned monthly since. 

"Most of the kids eat a lot of snack food at home and they talk about their favorite fast foods," she explains. But, she observes, appetites are quick to evolve. "In the first class, they take a pledge to taste whatever they make and I've been amazed by how open they are to new things."

Gershenwald was especially impressed by the curiosity of a child who asked about the price of goat cheese. "He wanted to buy some for his family so they could  try something new, too."

Kids begin the year believing that food originates at the grocery store, but Gershenwald has witnessed real change. "They connect--they go outside to the garden, then make something out of what they've grown." Recently, she overheard students describing spinach, basil and parsley they were harvesting from their garden for a new recipe. "It tastes like spring."