Since 2010, KK&P has been developing a robust practice area around food education, working with innovative primary schools, culinary schools and other institutions of higher education to align and develop curriculum relevant to today’s increasingly diverse food industry.
For the International Culinary Center’s Campbell, CA campus, we developed and launched an agricultural farm-to-table (FTT) component to their Professional Certificate Program. Two years later we were then asked to develop additional modules for their FTT curriculum, which included instructing teachers in FTT, developing reading lists, course assignments, and farm projects and visits, all integrating the principles of the farm-to-table curriculum.
Hostos Community College brought on KK&P to design and execute a research strategy for a new Food Studies program. Here, we lead the creative design of the curricular requirements, scoped the “business case” for operating such a curriculum, and identified the connections and other synergies within the college (i.e. other complementary existing programs), and with local and national entities that would provide ongoing opportunities to graduating Hostos students.
The Food Studies at Hostos CC launched an initial class in the Fall of 2014, and launched in full in September 2015. We will be working with them in 2016 to develop new professional certificate courses in food distribution and food safety.
Our work in Northwest Arkansas, which began with a regional food assessment led us to, now, our third year working with Northwest Arkansas Community College’s Culinary School, on a number of important initiatives that will culminate in the launch of Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food, in January 2017. We first conducted an assessment of the original program that was not meeting needs of the growing restaurant and food community. This led to a strategic plan and organizational review to determine health of the organization and its ability to grow and meet employers’ needs. We recruited a new Executive Director, developed new curriculum and now serve in a significant project liaison role as the new school is being built, staffed and planned for.
SUNY Adirondack asked KK&P to follow up on a study they commissioned to determine how the college could best serve the needs of Washington County residents. KK&P was asked to look at specific programming around food and agriculture. We reviewed the study and conducted our own quantitative and qualitative research and proposed integrating existing food and agriculture programming to create the SUNY Adirondack Center for Food and Agriculture, both an on-line platform and physical spaces at the current campus and in Washington County that would meet the needs of Washington County residents and capitalize on growing trends in food and agriculture production and technologies. The college is currently meeting with stakeholders to determine short and long term funding and approaches to implementation.
In 2013 Amherst College entered into a relationship with Book & Plow Farm to grow food and develop programming to serve the Amherst College community. The farm has been an unqualified success and expanded rapidly to serve the needs of dining services and the farm and farmers have quickly become an important part of college. At this juncture the school sought counsel to align the institution, dining services and farm missions and to develop strategies to ensure the long-term viability of the farm and its relationship to the college. KK&P worked with all stakeholders to develop a shared vision and facilitated meetings that allowed all parties to share their needs and concerns for a long-term partnership. KK&P’s recommendations included specific contractual terms that would help to ensure longevity as well as approaches to institutionalizing educational programming and increasing faculty engagement. The college is engaging KK&P for a second phase of work to help implement these recommendations.
Northwest Arkansas Community College