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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
VOLUNTEER HANDBOOK 2010-2011
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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
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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.
VOLUNTEER HANDBOOK 2010-2011
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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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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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