CPSD culinary arts program receives $25,000 grant

By Clinton Courier | June 12, 2021 |

By Taylor McKay Hathorn

Catherine Bruce’s first year in the classroom was certainly one to remember, as the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools around the world. Bruce’s combined classroom and kitchen at the CHS Career Complex was no exception, and the culinary arts instructor put her plans for the school year on pause.

Once Bruce returned for her second year of teaching—this one nearly as unusual as the first, with students required to wear masks and maintain social distancing—she remembered a conversation she’d had with a fellow educator, a PE teacher who had applied for a grant with Blue Cross-Blue Shield to promote health in the classroom.

“I looked into it, and the grants aren’t just about physical health. They’re also about healthy eating,” Bruce recalled.

She felt that her classroom and students certainly met the criteria for the grant, and she began the application process.

“[BCBS] was fantastic to work with,” Bruce enthused. “They have a person who walks you through the application process and makes sure that you have completed it correctly, and they sent me pamphlets from other programs.”

Her careful attention to detail paid off, and the culinary arts program received $25,000 in grant funding, which will bring massive changes to the dining room. Bruce says that she’s most looking forward to receiving four hydroponics, which are six-foot structures that contain thirty-six plants each.

“Hydroponic gardening is something we cover in our curriculum, but, because of the coronavirus, we weren’t able to visit [a hydroponic garden] ourselves,” Bruce stated. “This time, we will be able to experience it right there in our dining room.”

The grant funding will also pave the way for the installation of wrought-iron planters, which will be used to allow students to plant fresh herbs and flowers. Bruce is also planning to begin composting with her students, so that they can use the refuse in both the outdoor and indoor gardens. The chef is loath to keep these projects confined to her classroom, though, and she looks forward to involving the rest of Clinton High School to participate in her horticultural pursuits.

“I’m going to send out an email in the fall to let [other teachers] know that they can bring their classes down and participate with us,” Bruce said. “They’re more than welcome. I’m also including the special needs class—they already help us with folding laundry, and now they can come down and help us with things like this.”

Bruce cherishes the relationship between her culinary arts students and the special needs classes, saying that she’s looking forward to the students working toward their life-skill acquisition by checking the PH balance and levels of the hydroponics, along with assisting with harvesting vegetables and turning the compost.

Her own students are looking forward to gaining new skills, too, as Bruce noted that her chefs in training are “thrilled” with the incoming changes, saying,

“They all jumped on board, and they wanted [the gardens] to be their assigned tasks. We have a very detailed cleaning chart that the students adhere to and rotate through, and I’ll add the garden to that. Whether it’s watering or composting, they’ll all be assigned the task.”

Bruce hopes that the entire community can benefit from the fruits of her classes’ labor, as she and her students will make appearances at local farmers’ markets, selling produce, bagged compost, and baked goods—all made within the walls of their classroom.