Team Nutrition Leader: Mrs. Brenda Silverstone, HISD Culinary Ancillary Teacher
RFS Team Leader: Chef Mark Wilson
S2P Instructor: Amber Alaniz
RFS programming began - September 2006
Number of children served each month: 950 children
RFS partners with Rodriguez to provide a unique full-time Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ Ancillary programming during the school day, reaching every student on a rotational basis. Monday is focused on the culture of food, Tuesday is spent in the garden, Wednesday is recipe prep day, and Thursday is a cooking and eating day.
The 4th grade students are also paired with a Chefs in Schools™ volunteer who visits on Thursdays during their rotation. With this schedule, every Rodriguez student receives 20 hours of S2P hands-on instruction each year.
Other Programming:
During the summer of 2008, RFS piloted our month-long Eat This! Summer Camp™ at Rodriguez for 25 students, led by former Team Leader, Chef Carolyn Carcassi. Students spent 6 hours a day in class and culminated with a fiesta for their parents and teachers.
Chef Carolyn also designed and delivered our Eat This Baby!™ parent classes each Friday, throughout the 2008/2009 school year to 20 participating parents.
In 2009, Rodriguez received a grant from The City of Houston's After School Achievement Program to provide after school classes for 30 3rd-5th grade students, for 2 hours each day, Monday-Friday. RFS has designed a special combination of Eat This!™ and Kids Dig It!™ after school classes for these students. Mondays and Wednesdays are garden days, Tuesdays are cooking days, Thursday is the Wellness Wagon preparation day--this is healthy snack cart program to sell fruits, veggies, and other healthy snacks before school and our students are involved in every aspect of the cart, and Fridays are fun days that include tasty healthy snacks, garden time, and a review of the week. This is the most intense after school programming we deliver and has met with astounding success!
RFS Chefs in Schools™ at Rodriguez:
Joe Apa (t'afia)
Peter Garcia (El Meson)
Tracy Horton (Central Market)
Nicole Livezy, private Chef
Jerry Shawn (Angela's Oven)
John Sheely (Mockingbird Bistro)
Ruffy Sulaiman (Hilton Americas)
The Rodriguez Recipe Garden:
At ½ acre, the Recipe Garden is now the largest in our system. When RFS began programming at Rodriguez, there were 3 existing garden beds built by Urban Harvest. There was also a courtyard garden built by former teacher that includes fruit trees, a pond, and raised gardening boxes. In 2007, we added 6 beds, so that each grade level would have one garden bed, totaling 9 beds. In 2008, we built an additional 17 garden beds. Now, each grade level has 3 garden beds, giving each classroom teacher plenty of space to garden. 2 beds are dedicated to wildflower future berry bushes, 2 beds are dedicated to butterfly garden planting, and 1 bed is dedicated to perennial herbs and parent involvement.
There are 2 composting stations, and a classroom vermiculture (worm) composting box. For Arbor Day 2010, we planted 12 fruit trees: mango, guava, 2 Meyer lemon, Bonanza Miniature Peach, Saijo persimmon, Nova mandarin, orange, Mexican lime, Star Fruit, and 2 Miho Satsuma.
Special RFS Events at Rodriguez:
RfS S2P students recently catered the Harris Cpounty Department of Education's Town Hall Meeting with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, where they were prepared healthy snacks for 300 guests and lunch for the Secretary and his staff.
The students showcase their culinary skills at school expos, including the Gift and Talented Expo and the After School Program Expo.
Volunteer Activities and projects implemented on campus by RFS with our Partners:
September 2007, RFS staff, teachers, students, and parents build 6 garden beds. October 2008, 100 volunteers from US Foodservice helped us build 17 raised beds.
Feb. 2010, members of the Wellness and Health Committee, US Foodservice volunteers, students, and community volunteers plant 12 fruit trees in the garden
Wellness Committee Update from Rodriguez: Since 2007, RFS has been a partner with the Garden and Wellness Committee to provide guidance and support concerning the garden. RFS and the Garden and Wellness Committee planned all three garden workdays, designed a watering plan, and work to encourage all Rodriguez staff to utilize the garden.
The Committee has had meetings and discussions about how to improve school lunch options; conducted outreach to parents about healthy lifestyle food choices and how to increase student physical activity. Many teachers at Rodriguez took part in the "Show Us Your Veggies, 5-A-Day Challenge," and Rodriguez can claim the overall winner of all of the schools that participated in the 5-A-Day Challenge: Ms. Perez Lewis, who consumed more than 200 fruits and vegetables in March!
Our second grade teachers planted butterfly plants in 3 of the beds in the Recipe Garden.
US Foodservice has adopted RFS programming at Rodriguez and expanded to provide even more support to the faculty and students. 100 volunteers helped us build the Recipe Garden, employees regularly volunteer in our classroom and garden and in 2008 and 2009, employees donated school supplies and holiday gifts to every Rodriguez student.
American Seed Company has gifted wildflower seeds to our Recipe Gardens, Houston-Galveston Area Council has awarded an Orchards in Schools Grant to plant trees. Hidden Valley Ranchawarded $10,000 to expand the RFS programming with the Healthy Snack Cart and healthy veggie tastings offered in the school cafeteria. City of Houston After School Enrichment Program awarded a $40,000 grant for RFS after-school programming
We know our message is getting through in part because:
"Recipe for Success has opened the eyes of all of our students on the benefits of nutritious foods and healthy eating choices. The knowledge our students gain by the hands on experience in the garden as well as creating delicious and nutritional foods is truly priceless," says school principal, Elena Buley.
