School nutrition professionals from Creating and Executing a Culinary Advancement Plan (CECAP) Tier 1 schools are invited to a no–cost pilot culinary workshop featuring 10 new Massachusetts Harvest of the Month (HOTM) recipes. This hands-on session helps teams bring more local produce into K–12 meals using simple scratch and speed‑scratch techniques that fit real school kitchen operations.
The workshop will be held at Framingham State University during April school vacation on Thursday, April 23 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and is limited to 16 participants for an interactive, skill‑focused experience.
Participants will practice preparing fresh, Massachusetts‑grown fruits and vegetables, explore methods that meet federal nutrition guidelines, and learn to create student‑friendly recipes that highlight local ingredients.
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the value of connecting school meals to local food systems
- Efficiently prepare Farm to School fruits and vegetables
- Create nutritious, appealing recipes using fresh local produce
- Integrate Farm to School items into menus within nutritional guidelines
About CECAP
CECAP is a training and mentoring program designed to help school nutrition teams build culinary skills, strengthen kitchen efficiencies, and set achievable goals for scratch‑cooking success.
Join CECAP and your school nutrition team will receive customized culinary support from a culinary consultant at JSI. By completing the CECAP intake survey, schools are placed into one of three Culinary Readiness Tiers (1–3)—with each tier offering the level of assistance that best fits their needs, including a personalized Culinary Advancement Plan that moves teams closer to JSI’s Chef Coaching Program.
This pilot workshop is exclusive to CECAP Tier 1 schools.
All Massachusetts districts are encouraged to take the CECAP intake survey to determine their tier and access this and future opportunities.