VOLUNTEER HANDBOOK 2010-2011recipe4success.org/volunteer handbook 2010:2011 -1.pdfHope Farms is a 100 acre urban agricultural site under development in partnership with the Houston

VOLUNTEER HANDBOOK 2010-2011

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Welcome...................................................................................................................3Who We Are..............................................................................................................4Vision/Fat Facts..........................................................................................................5Seed to Plate Nutrition Education™/ Team Leaders....................................................6Team Nutrition Leaders..............................................................................................7Chefs in Schools........................................................................................................8Recipe Gardens & Hope Farms..................................................................................9Eat This! and Kid’s Dig It! After School/ Eat This! Summer Camp...............................10Volunteer Job Descriptions.................................................................................11-12Volunteer Opportunities/School Locations..........................................................13-15Policies and Procedures......................................................................................16-19


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Table of Contents

Welcome

Dear Volunteer,

We are very excited that you have chosen to contribute your time and efforts to Recipe for

Success Foundation. Recipe for Success is responsible for influencing the lives of

thousands of children, but this would not be possible without the help we receive from

dedicated folks like you. Please know that your energy and skills make a tremendous

difference.

With such a many-faceted program, there are several different ways to become an active

participant in our organization. No matter how you choose to aid Recipe for Success, we

strive to make your involvement with us you a rewarding experience and hope you will

find it satisfying.

Through your work with Recipe for Success, we want to impart a broad understanding of

the obesity epidemic our country faces, and give you the opportunity to influence young

children in their efforts to lead a healthier lifestyle. We encourage you to share this

information with friends and loved ones and most of all, have fun doing it!

This manual was designed to be an informational tool. If you have questions or concerns,

please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you,

Katherine Wilson

Volunteer Coordinator

Ph: (713) 520-0443

[email protected]


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Who we are

The Recipe for Success Foundation (RFS) is a 501C3 public charity dedicated to

combating childhood obesity and encouraging long term health by changing the way

children understand, appreciate and eat their food and to educating and mobilizing the

community to provide healthier diets for them.

Launched in 2005 to translate research into action, many of the finest chefs in town

joined our effort and together we took a small step in the war against childhood obesity:

prevention. Now we have over 65 Chefs on our Chefs Advisory Board, a professional staff

of eighteen, a twenty-four member Board of Directors, thirty-one Community Advisors and

an annual budget nearing $1 million. We have become the largest nutrition education

program of our kind in the country.

In Houston, as in much of the rest of the country, the rates of childhood obesity are

staggering. The loss of connection with food and the traditions of the table; reluctance to

eat fresh fruits and vegetables and cultural preference for a meat-based diet; and reliance

on processed food with a huge carbon footprint are some of the key contributing factors.

We knew that creating a successful replicable program in Houston's stressed urban

environment could impact the whole country, potentially saving billions in healthcare

costs, but more importantly, rescue an entire generation of Americans.

We began in the schools, giving monthly hands-on classes that put children in

touch with their food from seed to plate and we made it fun. We built the program from

there to include after-school, summer camp, parent classes and community outreach. Our

strategy is powerful. Children are changing their habits and attitudes, surprising

themselves by trying and even liking vegetables that they would never even touch before.


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Parents report that their children now want to help cook and more often reach for the

healthier option without prompting.

Five years and more than 12,000 children later, we are poised to take our proven

Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ program to national scale, while at the same time

expanding our activities in Houston. We are in this fight for the long haul. The children

are counting on us.

Our Vision

Recipe for Success makes making healthy food fun so that children will naturally reach for

the healthier option, develop a preference for fruits and vegetables and reduce their

reluctance to try new foods. Through empowered young students we influence families

and entire communities. Our goals are aligned with the First Lady’s: eradicate childhood

obesity with a generation and our vision is to have our Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™

program in every community in America.

Fat Facts

• 1 in every 5 American children are overweight.

• 1 in every 3 Texas children are overweight.

• 1 in 2 Houston children are overweight.

• An overweight child is more likely to develop heart disease, high blood pressure, high

cholesterol, Type 2 Diabetes, kidney failure, and liver disease before they reach

adulthood.

• Weight patterns and food attitudes are set for life by age 11

• Obese people are four times more likely to die young than people of normal weight

range and this generation is the first not expected to outlive their parents.

• In 2005, obesity cost the American taxpayer $147 billion.

• At its current growth rate, the obesity epidemic threatens to wipe out an entire

generation’s productivity and burden our health care system beyond its capacity to

deliver care.


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Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™

RFS Team Leaders work in each of our program locations, to implement on-site RFS programming, mentor school wellness committees, and forge community collaborations to help establish a campus-wide culture of health.

RFS Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ includes four core initiatives that are primarily delivered in an elementary school setting under the guidance of an RFS Team Leader in collaboration with a school-based Team Nutrition Leader.

Chefs in Schools™-professional chefs volunteer to teach monthly cooking classes to students in a school classroom setting, using a curriculum and delivery designed and supported by the RFS staff of professional chefs and

educators.

Recipe Gardens™-organic gardens designed and built in each participating location serve as outdoor classrooms where RFS professional horticultural staff give regular (at least monthly) gardening lessons to every member of

the student body and mentor teachers to incorporate the garden into other core curriculum.


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Eat This!™, Kids Dig It! ™ and Eat This, Baby!™- cooking and gardening after school classes provide age-appropriate experiential learning that further empowers children from Pre-K-5th grades to prepare their own fresh

fruits and vegetables, and young parents to prepare healthy meals for their families.

Eat This! Summer Camps™- innovative curriculum introduces nine, ten and eleven year olds to the principals of marketing, tasks them with developing their own healthy food product and then to take it all the way to market.

Team Nutrition Leaders

Each participating elementary school designates a parent, teacher or community

volunteer to be their Team Nutrition Leader. After selection and training, each TNL (with

RfS support) focuses on implementing nutrition vertically throughout their school's

curriculum, by utilizing the best available resources and programs that will fit their

school's culture.

The goal is to put children back in touch with their food by making healthy eating

fun, and to involve the community and parents in learning how to make good nutritional

choices. Ideas are put into place using the impressive array of readily available programs

and materials that are already researched and designed.

Projects might include a school green market, parent/child cooking classes, after

school junior master gardener's programs, essay contests, math and science projects,

cultural explorations, family interviews and collection of oral food histories--all interlaced

with required learning skills that change perceptions and broaden horizons.


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Chefs in Schools™

Unique in the country, the Recipe for Success Foundation’s Chefs in Schools ™

program has organized the professional culinary community to mentor young children,

empowering them to create healthy, yet tasty snacks and meals for themselves. Over 60 of

Houston’s finest professional chefs volunteer their time to join RFS staff chefs in 4th grade

classrooms and after school to deliver hands-on cooking experiences. Using specially

designed portable cooking carts, chefs lead 4th graders through monthly explorations of

flavor. They begin with how taste buds work together and then over the course of the year,

move through the entire food pyramid with easy to execute recipes. Fresh produce from

the schools‘ Recipe Gardens™ is regularly featured to exemplify our Seed-to-Plate

Nutrition Education™ concept. RFS worksheets feature nutrition, healthy food, and

cooking methods integrated into math, science, reading, writing and other school projects.

Members of our Chefs Advisory Board also bring their fresh ideas to help create healthy

and delicious menus for school lunch programs, give RFS cooking classes to parents in

schools and community centers and host field trips to their restaurant kitchens, favorite

farms, farmers’ markets and grocery stores. During its first four years, the RFS Chefs in

Schools ™ program led over 1,600 HISD 4th grade students through 9 months of classes,

instilling in the children a lifelong enthusiasm for the consumption of healthy foods, fresh

fruits and vegetables.


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Recipe Gardens™ & Hope Farms

Recipe for Success Foundation’s professional

gardening staff works with faculty, parents, students,

and community volunteers to design and build a

Recipe Garden™ at each school in which we work.

The outdoor classroom environment includes raised

garden plots for each classroom teacher as well as

attractive communal areas.

The Recipe Gardens™ provide school-wide

enhancement as well as a cornerstone of the

interdisciplinary nutritional learning activities featured

in RFS Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™. RFS

gardening instructors deliver monthly classes to each

grade level that introduce students to the entire food

cycle, and work with teachers to help weave food

gardening into curriculum like math, science,

language arts and social studies.

The Recipe Gardens™ are also regularly used,

after school and during the summer, to deliver RFS

signature programming. Besides suggesting grade-

appropriate curricula and encouraging all teachers

to take full advantage of the garden, RFS staff

promotes interactive projects such as incorporating

the garden into school-wide events, expanding to

feature a school-based farmers’ market and a variety

of other initiatives to help integrate a culture of health

throughout the campus.

Hope Farms™ is a 100 acre urban agricultural

site under development in partnership with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. We

envision scores of volunteer opportunities at Hope Farms in the future, but not yet.


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Kids Cooking! ™ & Kids Dig It! ™ After School Classes

Recipe for Success Foundation has developed an innovative selection of Kids Cooking!™

& Kids Dig It!™ after school classes, which are tailored to specific age groups in order to

best enhance their learning experience. Two-hour biweekly classes are presented in 9-

week rotations.

These classes can be part of any elementary school’s wellness programming in two

ways: Series can stand alone as an opportunity to introduce our Seed-to-Plate Nutrition

Education™ healthy eating lessons to a student body, or they can further develop students’

cooking or gardening skills as a complement to RFS programming that is already

integrated into the regular school day.

Our grade-specific classes are Snacks 101™ for Kindergarten & 1st graders,

Beginning to Cook™ for 2nd graders, Pasta and Pizza™ for 3rd graders, Junior Master

Gardening for 4th & 5th graders, and Dinner Club™ for 5th graders.

Eat This! Summer Camps™

The Recipe for Success Foundation’s Eat This! Summer Camp™ prepares students to be

savvy consumers. The 120-hour program is tailored to 9-11 year-olds who have had some

exposure to the kitchen and garden, and teaches them how food is developed and

marketed to the American consumer. The experience culminates with a student project to

turn the bounty of their summer garden into a marketable prepared product. In the

process, participants research and create recipes, test them on other students, design

packaging and an advertising campaign and sell their products. This ultimate model of

experiential learning prepares young consumers to be aware of and resist the manipulative

marketing tactics of retailers and junk food makers - a lesson for life.


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Volunteer Job Descriptions

Chefs in Schools™ and/or

Kids Cooking!™ After School Assistant

Over 60 of Houston’s finest chefs participate in our

Chefs n Schools program, and this is your chance to work

side by side with them in the classroom.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to assist staff

and volunteer chefs in preparing for class. When the

students arrive, volunteers will work at a station with 4-5

students. Volunteers will help the students stay on task

while following the daily recipe. After class, volunteers

assist with clean up.

Your Team Leader and chef will rely on your

help to ensure that students are following the chef’s

instructions, to assist students in participating, and to

engage them in the learning process. You may need to

help the Team Leader and chef maintain order but always

with care and a calm attitude. You will need to be

registered with Houston ISD’s VIPS program to be allowed

to volunteer in the classroom. We can help you take care

of that registration process.


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Recipe Gardens™ and/or Kids Dig It!™ After School Assistant

Volunteers do not have to have a “green thumb” to help in the Recipe Gardens™! The

only requirements are a desire to work with children and a respect for nature. The RFS

staff will guide the class in fun garden activities. Volunteers are occasionally rewarded

with fresh produce from the Recipe Gardens™ to

share with their families! You will need to be

registered with Houston ISD’s VIPS to volunteer in the

schools. We can help you take care of that.

Volunteer duties include:

• Assisting with Recipe Gardens™ class set up

• Assisting the Garden Instructor with the class

activity

• Helping students focus on the lesson

• Ensuring student safety when garden tools are used

• Conducting specified garden maintenance, such as watering, weeding, composting, seed

saving or tool shed organization

• Organizing and distributing class worksheets and other materials

• Assisting with Recipe Gardens™ class clean up

Special Events and Office Assistance

RFS is also involved in community projects

throughout the year, such as the Art Car Parade,

The Children’s Festival, and local farmers

markets. There are also endless volunteer

opportunities at our office assisting with

mailings, filing, and other special projects. If

you are interested in any of the above possibilities or you have a special skill that will aid

RFS, such as photography, photo and text editing, or bilingual translations, please contact

Volunteer Coordinator Katherine Wilson.


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Volunteer Opportunities and Programming Locations

Briscoe Elementary321 Forest Hill Houston, Texas 77011Room: RFS Culinary Lab, Room #14RFS Team Leader – Anne WeinheimerTeam Nutrition Leader – Ms. De los Santos

Briscoe is a largely Hispanic school located off of 1-45 and Wayside. Many Briscoe students speak Spanish as their first language. Briscoe currently has the Chefs in Schools™ and Recipe Gardens™ programs. Classes are held weekly on Mondays.

Jenard Gross Elementary12583 South GessnerHouston, Texas 77071Room: Teachers lounge located in the cafeteria hallwayRFS Team Leader – Frank SchnitzerTeam Nutrition Leader - Otis Bias

Gross has 800 students from diverse backgrounds; 20 of them participate in our bi-weekly after school program. Gross currently operates a consolidated Seed-to-Plate After School in the kitchen and garden on Mondays and Wednesdays.

N.Q. Henderson Elementary701 Solo Houston, Texas 77020Room: RFS Culinary Lab, Room #21RFS Team Leader: Ronnie OrtizTeam Nutrition Leader: Dr. Freddie Davis

Located off of I-10 east of downtown, Henderson is largely African-American and has the most at-risk population of all RFS showcase schools. Currently, we operates a full time S2P Ancillary program during the day integrated with Chefs in Schools™ and Recipe Gardens™, and Kids Cooking!™ and Kid’s Dig It!™ after-school classes four days a week. An ancillary program allows all students to participate in Recipe for Success programming during the school day just as they would any other secondary class, such as Art or Physical Education. Programming at Henderson is on Mondays and Wednesdays.


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MacGregor Elementary4801 La BranchHouston, Texas 77004Room: RFS Culinary Lab Room #9RfS Team Leaders: Molly Graham Sharon SiehlTeam Nutrition Leader: Susan Gomez

MacGregor is a magnet school offering instruction in science, music, and technology. MacGregor has just over 300 students and is located near Midtown. Programs include Chefs in Schools™, Recipe Gardens™, Kids Cooking!™ and Kid’s Dig It!™ after school classes, and Eat It!™ Summer Camp. Classes are on selected Mondays through Thursdays.

Rodriguez Elementary5858 Chimney RockHouston, Texas 77081Room: RFS Culinary LabRfS Team Leader: Kendall WatsonTeam Nutrition Leader: Sylvia Healy

Rodriguez is located in the Gulfton Community and is the largest of the Showcase Schools with more than 1,000 students. Rodriguez is largely Hispanic with most students speaking English as a second language. Programs include a fulltime S2P Ancillary program that integrates Chefs in Schools™, as well as Kids Cooking!™ and Kids Dig It!™ after school classes. Daytime classes are Tuesday through Thursday; After school is daily.

Kipp SHINE10711 Kipp WayHouston, TX 77099Room: Ask front deskRFS Team Leader: Ronnie OrtizTeam Nutrition Leader: 2nd grade teacher corps

Kipp SHINE is in its first year of RFS programming. Programs include Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ in an ancillary format for 2nd graders. Classes are every Friday.

Lyons Elementary 800 Roxella Street Houston, TX 77076Room: Ask front deskRFS Team Leader: Elizabeth HannahTeam Nutrition Leader: Myra Stuart

Lyons is in its first year of RFS programming. Programs include Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ in an after-school format on Tuesday and Thursday.


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Whittier Elementary10511 La Crosse StreetHouston, TX 77029-2111Room:RFS Team Leader: Nicole LivezyTeam Nutrition Leader: Not identified

Whittier is in its first year of RFS programming. Programs include Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ classes in after school format on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Denver Harbor Multi-service Center6402 Market StreetHouston, TX 77020Room: Ask at front deskRFS Team Leader: Nicole Livezy

Denver Harbor MSC is in its first year of RFS programming. Programs include Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ classes in an after school format on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Southwest Multi-service Center6400 High StarHouston, TX 77081Room: Ask at front deskRFS Team Leader: Ruth Riojas

Southwest MSC is in its first year of RFS programming. Programs include after school Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ classes in an after school format on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Kashmere Multi-service Center4802 LockwoodHouston, TX 77026Room: Ask at front deskRFS Team Leader: Ruth Riojas

Kashmere MSC is in its first year of RFS programming. Programs include Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ classes in an after school format on Tuesdays and Thursdays.


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Policies and Procedures

Getting Started

1. Attend Volunteer Orientation – Volunteer orientations take place quarterly at designated

RFS showcase school campus.

2. Complete Online Volunteer Information Form and sign and return the RFS

confidentiality agreement.

2. Once volunteers complete the RFS registration form, Katherine will register you with

the HISD VIPS. VIPS stands for Volunteers in Public Schools. It is policy for every

volunteer working within Houston ISD to be registered with VIPS. This information is

strictly for HISD records. When visiting a RFS campus, volunteers should bring a photo ID

to the front office and sign in. Volunteers should inform the front office that they have

been registered with VIPS online.

3. Katherine Wilson will electronically distribute volunteer calendars on a monthly basis.

Volunteers should contact Katherine by phone at (713) 520-0443 or email at

[email protected] to select any first time location to volunteer and Katherine

will facilitate your first visit. Once you have determined a good fit and want to return on a

regular basis, you may communicate with your Team Leader.

When three steps have been completed, volunteers will be ready to begin their

activities as part of our team!

Dress Code

RFS office has a casual dress code and expected attire for special and community events

will be communicated on a case by case basis.

For children’s classes:

During cooking classes please wear the following:

• RFS apron (provided by RFS) on the day of

volunteering

• Comfortable clothes that can get dirty

• Short sleeve shirts or sleeves that can be rolled up

• Hair pulled back away from face

• No clothing with logos or visible labels


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mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Please do not wear the following:

• Gaping necklines

• Clothes with written language

• Shirts that expose midsection

• Short shorts and skirts

• See-through clothing

• Excessive jewelry

• Open toe shoes

During gardening classes please wear the following:

• Baseball cap or sun hat

• Garden smock (provided by RfS)

• Sunscreen

• Closed toe shoes

• Insect repellant

• Comfortable clothes that could get dirty

• Garden gloves (provided by RfS)

Volunteers may bring a water bottle.

Please do not wear the following:

• Fragrance lotion and/or oil

• Excessive jewelry

• Gaping necklines

• Clothes with written language

• Shirts that expose midsection

• Short shorts and skirts

• See-through clothing

• Open toe shoes


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Cooking Classroom Expectations

1. Check in at the front office before arriving to class.

2. Arrive to the cooking classroom 30 minutes before actual class time begins for set up.

3. Wash hands with soap and warm water. Please keep hands clean throughout class.

4. Wear RFS apron during class.

5. Assist the Team Leader and chef throughout the classroom taking care of accidents as

they occur.

6. Assist students at designated work stations.

7. Set a positive example by always showing a willingness to taste everything prepared.

8. Assist in enforcing our two basic rules: 1) Everyone gets to do something, but nobody

gets to do everything; and 2) Everyone must taste everything that is prepared.

9. Stay 30 minutes after class to assist with clean up.

10. Please let us know about any food or kitchen item allergy so that Team Leaders can

make the necessary arrangements

Garden Classroom Expectations

1. Check in at the front office before arriving to class.

2. Arrive to the Recipe Garden 15 minutes before actual class time begins for set up.

3. Wear RFS smock when needed during class.

4. Assist Garden Instructor throughout the garden taking care of accidents as they occur.

5. Assist students at designated garden beds/ work stations.

6. Set a positive example by always showing a positive attitude when handling various

garden creatures.

7. Assist in enforcing our basic rule: Everyone gets to do something, but nobody gets to do

everything.

8. Stay 15 minutes after class to assist with clean up.


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Office Expectations

1. Maintain a tidy workspace.

2. Ask questions if unsure about a particular task.

3. Notify appropriate staff member upon arrival and departure at office.

4. Execute tasks with care paying attention to details.

5. Do not take RFS materials or use RFS equipment without permission.

Community Outreach and Event Expectation

vary depending on the specific activity/event. Participating volunteers will be notified of

these particulars before events take place.

In case of emergency

or if you can no longer keep your commitments to volunteer at a school, you should:

1.) Contact your Team Leader - Each school has an RFS staff person who is responsible for

executing Seed-to-Plate- Nutrition Education Programming™. The Team Leader should

always be contacted if a volunteer experiences any problems or experiences a change of

plans in which he/she will no longer be able to attend a scheduled class. The Team Leader

is the main contact person who is abreast of RFS program scheduling at any given school.

2.) Contact RFS Volunteer Coordinator, Katherine Wilson.


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Documents

VOLUNTEER HANDBOOK 2010-2011recipe4success.org/volunteer handbook 2010:2011 -1.pdfHope Farms is a 100 acre urban agricultural site under development in partnership with the Houston