Recipe for Success Foundation’s hands-on professional development day gives educators the full experience of the nation’s largest school-based nutrition education program — cooking, gardening, and classroom-ready materials, at Hope Farms in southeast Houston
Independent Educators $75 (end-of-school discount, regularly $150); Certified S2P Instructors and Instructors in Training free as an affiliate benefit. 6 CEUs included. Farm-to-table lunch included. Spots limited. Confirm date and register at hopefarmshtx.org.
Well neighbor, if you’re a classroom teacher, garden educator, school administrator, or after-school program leader — and you’ve been looking for a professional development day that’s genuinely worth the drive — Hope Farms and Recipe for Success Foundation are hosting one this summer that fits the bill perfectly. It’s a full hands-on day built around Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education, one of the most decorated school-based nutrition programs in the country, and educators walk away with 6 CEUs, classroom-ready materials, and a farm-to-table lunch that becomes part of the training itself.
About the Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education program
Recipe for Success Foundation launched the country’s first comprehensive, school-based nutrition education program more than 20 years ago right here in Houston. Since then, the Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ curriculum has empowered more than 50,000 children with hands-on lessons that connect kids to their food through gardening, cooking, and experiential learning. The program has grown from a Houston-based grassroots project into a nationally recognized model that’s now offered to schools across the country through Recipe for Success’s Affiliate Partner network.
The premise is simple and it works. Kids who plant the seed, tend the plant, harvest the vegetable, and cook the meal understand food in a way no textbook can teach. The result: significant improvements in nutrition knowledge, increases in fruit and vegetable consumption, and a greater willingness to try new foods. And it sticks — teachers describe kindergartners coming home excited about bok choy and beet greens, ordering salads at Chuck E. Cheese, and telling their parents what they should and shouldn’t eat.
What the professional development day looks like
This isn’t a sit-and-listen kind of PD day. Educators actually experience the full curriculum firsthand — the way the students do. Expect to spend time in the garden planting, in the kitchen cooking, and around a table breaking down the pedagogical approach that has made the program a national model. You’ll get a real feel for how Seed-to-Plate lessons work in a classroom setting, why they connect with kids, and how to adapt the framework to your specific age group, subject area, or program design.
Highlights of the day include:
Hands-on gardening and cooking activities that mirror what students experience.
A shared farm-to-table lunch prepared at Hope Farms using produce grown steps from where you’ll eat it.
Classroom-ready materials you can take back and use immediately.
6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) — meaningful credit for the training on your professional development record.
Direct time with the Recipe for Success team, who have been teaching and refining this curriculum for two decades.
Who this day is designed for
The day is designed for:
Classroom teachers of any grade level who want to bring garden-based, hands-on nutrition education into their science, health, or general curriculum.
Garden educators who want to strengthen their teaching practice and connect their gardens to structured learning outcomes.
School administrators evaluating nutrition, wellness, or garden programming for their schools.
After-school program leaders looking for engaging, evidence-based content to build into their programming.
Volunteers, parents, and advocates interested in bringing Seed-to-Plate to their schools or communities may also benefit from the training.
Registration and pricing
Certified S2P Instructors and Instructors in Training attend free of charge — this is included as an affiliate benefit. If your school is already a Recipe for Success Affiliate Partner and you or your colleagues are certified or in training, you can register at no cost.
Independent Educators attend at $75, which is an end-of-school discount off the regular $150 price. If you’re a teacher, garden coordinator, or program leader independent of an affiliate school, this is the best time of year to attend.
Spots are limited. Recipe for Success caps attendance to keep the day intimate and hands-on, which means seats do fill up. If this sounds like the professional development you’ve been looking for, register early.
About Hope Farms — the setting for the day
Hope Farms is Recipe for Success Foundation’s seven-acre working urban farm in southeast Houston, just minutes from Loop 610. Beyond being the perfect location for a farm-to-table PD day, Hope Farms is a genuinely beautiful, verdant classroom in the middle of the city — a sanctuary of growing beds, community gardens, kitchen space, and open air. The farm hosts thousands of visitors, students, and educators every year, and its infrastructure was designed specifically for the kind of hands-on learning this training day delivers.
Why this professional development day is worth your time
Here’s the honest read, neighbor. Professional development days are only as valuable as what teachers can actually take back and use. Recipe for Success has spent 20 years building a curriculum that’s used from Houston to California and beyond, and the affiliate network keeps growing every year because the program works. Spending a summer day at Hope Farms — cooking, gardening, tasting fresh Texas produce, and learning from the team that built the whole thing — is the kind of day that stays with an educator for the rest of their teaching career. Six CEUs, ready-to-use classroom materials, and a genuinely delicious lunch are just the practical benefits. The bigger benefit is walking back into your classroom or after-school program in the fall with a new toolbox and a fresh sense of what’s possible when kids get their hands in the soil.
For the specific date, address, and full registration information, visit hopefarmshtx.org or reach out to Recipe for Success Foundation directly. And if you’d like to bring the full Seed-to-Plate program to your school through the Affiliate Partner network, information is available at recipe4success.org.
Take one day this summer. Come to the farm. Come back with something real.
See you at Hope Farms, neighbor.
