Vetri Community Partnership

Founded in 2008 by acclaimed chef Marc Vetri and restaurateur Jeff Benjamin, the Vetri Community Partnership works to help kids experience the connection between healthy eating and healthy living. Through food, education and social interaction, the VCP works to give children the nutritional foundation they need to grow and thrive.

Program descriptions 

Eatiquette is Vetri Community Partnership's lunch program, which transforms the traditional cafeteria experience from waiting in lines to family-style dining. VCP chefs work with the school cafeteria team to introduce fresh, nutritious, from-scratch meal options to daily menus. With round tables in the lunch room, the environment shifts as students enjoy a family style meal – gathering around tables, passing plates of food to one another, and engaging in a positive social interaction that focuses on respect, teamwork, and etiquette. 

My Daughter’s Kitchen is an out-of-school time, interactive cooking class with the goal of teaching students how to prepare nutritious, easy, and tasty meals on a budget. Through a partnership with Maureen Fitzgerald, the food editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, each class is given an opportunity to write about each class and their cooking adventures for the My Daughter's Kitchen blog. At 38 sites, classes run once a week for 8 weeks with each class focusing on a particular ingredient, technique, and/or dish type. Five students work with two volunteer instructors to slice, dice, grate, peel, and prep ingredients for sauteing, boiling, or roasting. When their recipes are ready, students set the table and sit down to enjoy their creation as a group. For the final class, students share their new skills and prepare a meal for their invited special guests. 

Vetri Cooking Lab is an out-of-school time program for students in 4th through 6th grade that focuses on cooking, nutrition, and food education featuring STEM core concepts. Developed by our culinary and education experts, this program is designed to empower students to make healthy choices by arming them with knowledge about their food and hands-on preparation of food items. Participants in the program will learn what whole foods are and why they're best, as well as where to find them and what to do with them. The curriculum recipes are tailored to make the most of the limited settings and teach a wide range of culinary skills needed to prepare nutritious, delicious, and affordable meals.

Mobile Teaching Kitchen is a retrofitted van that sets the stage for a memorable, hands-on cooking experience for community members and interested participants. The Mobile Teaching Kitchen arrives on-site at schools, farmers’ markets and community events, both indoor and outdoor, with tables, cooking equipment, speakers and more to create a hands-on cooking demonstration experience. Working together with local partners at food distribution organizations, farmers markets, and emergency food pantries, our chef teaches how to cook healthy, scratch-made dishes using fresh, nutritious, and affordable ingredients. With a focus on utilizing in-season ingredients and sharing preparation and storage tips, participants will be empowered to try these techniques and foods on their own. By bringing the Mobile Teaching Kitchen to the community, we’re now able to work directly with parents, children, and families to share our message about the importance of leading healthy lives using fresh food, hands-on experiences, and education.