Thanks to your generous support and some relief dollars from the Commonwealth of PA, Vetri Community Partnership has been able to keep the spirit and impact of SNAP-Ed alive, as we continue to adapt following the loss of federal funding. As a supporter of Culinary Classroom, we wanted you to be the first to know the current and future plans for Culinary Classroom.
Currently, rebuilding and reimagining Culinary Classroom means moving toward a smaller, more sustainable program model, serving fewer schools than previously with SNAP-Ed. Every decision is being made with care to ensure lasting impact and quality for our students.
This fall, we are testing and phasing in gradually to ensure a smooth transition for educators and students. Existing school partners will continue to receive the original SNAP-Ed curriculum, while some schools will experience pilot versions of the new approach (Culinary Classroom) starting in November. These early adopters will use a blended version of the old and new lessons as a way to test and refine the content before a broader rollout in 2026.
Our team is actively testing the first year of our two-year Culinary Classroom curriculum. Some changes from the previous SNAP-Ed curriculum include:
- Expanding from 3 to 4 lessons for each classroom, with richer nutrition content and usages of Vetri Community Partnership’s core recipes.
- Sequential, not standalone lessons, helping students build skills and knowledge from one lesson to the next.
- More hands-on and skill-based learning, emphasizing practical learning like how to read a recipe, knife safety, and understanding food groups.
- Collaborative cooking, where students work in groups to prepare different components of a recipe that come together at the end.
Your investment has made it possible for us to bring back Culinary Classroom in innovative and sustainable ways. Thank you for standing with us and believing in the power of cooking and nutrition education to make a lasting difference in young people’s lives.
