Recipe for Success is a community effort to promote literacy, healthy eating, and food-related careers through fun and tasty cooking activities focused on third, seventh, and ninth graders in the Rochester City School District (RCSD).

Recipe for Success grew out of Rochester Education Foundation's successful and continuing Give Back, Give Books program, through which more than 16,000 new books have been donated to city school students and city school libraries. Books were donated to REF by community members, organizations, businesses and faith communities. REF distributed most of the books to students as part of book fairs where they could choose their own book to keep. During these fairs, we were surprised when many students asked if cookbooks were available. Recipe for Success continues the mission of Give Back, Give Books by offering cookbooks and books about gardening to students.

Click here to download the Recipe for Success brochure in PDF format.

Book donations support REF's commitment to student success. Reading success by third grade is a solid predictor of future academic success. Students who don't read at grade level by third grade are less likely to be successful in school and graduate from high school.

Recipe for Success also encourages healthy living. A total of 23% of RCSD students are obese, compared to 15% of Monroe County students. This is not surprising given the high prevalence of poverty among city school students (88% receive free or reduced-price school lunches). Urban young people are more likely than others to eat processed foods and to have little experience with fresh produce.

Although obesity is recognized as an increasing problem with long-term health implications, some RCSD schools have actually reduced cooking and health instruction time due to NY State requirements for emphasis on core programs related to the No Child Left Behind act. Recipe for Success helps students learn more about nutritious eating and its connection to good health.

Our goal in 2008-2009 is to reach a minimum of 300 third grade students, and another 300 seventh and ninth grade students through our program. Each student will receive their own copy of a healthy eating cookbook. Teachers will work with REF to create instructional units to help teach fundamentals around healthy eating and food preparation. Students will have hands-on experience in handling and preparing fresh foods and the opportunity to taste those foods. We also plan to offer engagement with food professionals such as chefs, as well as field trips to food-related businesses. This program will offer a valuable message concerning the importance of healthy eating and the excitement and rewards of working with healthy foods.