There are culinary instructors among us who have a focused ability to create extremely beneficial partnerships, garner local and regional publicity, and effectively teach and mentor culinary students to go far beyond the school’s kitchens to successful foodservice careers. One such hard-working educator is the 2023 Idaho Potato Commission’s Secondary Educator of the Year recipient, Mary Levinski.

Mary, a teacher and department chair at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School in Minnesota, possesses an extraordinary talent for organizing and bringing people together, which has been developed throughout her more than 30 years in education. Click here to read a Gold Medal Classroom story discussing the many reasons she earned the Teacher of the Year award.

I recently asked Mary if she would share her expertise with Gold Medal Classroom readers who may gain some insight or new ideas on how they too can implement a version of her successful strategies.

The first article features her tactics for creating partnerships and sponsorships. I believe it is helpful to understand that a partnership is when two entities pool their resources and together provide a service or good. A sponsorship is an agreement to exchange products or services for the value of being associated with the program. These partnerships have helped her culinary students gain valuable experience and exposure in the foodservice industry.

Partnerships  

Why do you feel community partnerships are vital to your culinary program?
Community partnerships can be great opportunities for schools to not only connect students, parents, nonprofit organizations, local businesses, and educators to increase funding chances, but also a measure to create advocacy for education and work toward achieving a common goal.

Community partnerships allow organizations and educational institutions to share responsibilities by engaging in meaningful ways, while actively involving all parties in the process.

Schools that partner with community organizations can also reach out for their other needs. For example, community organizations are useful resources for teachers who want to invite professionals such as chefs or hospitality professionals from a particular field to their classrooms to engage students in experiential learning.

Can you describe an example of the process to find a partner organization?
It is most important to reach out to find collaborative partners as soon as school starts or right now. Once you have established these partnerships, it’s just a continuous process. I add people and businesses all the time. If I am out and about attending a conference or training, I am always looking to expand on my partnerships by verbal invitation and then following up with an email. My philosophy is that it doesn’t hurt to ask, all they can do is say “no” and more often than not, it is a “yes.”

Once you find an organization, can you provide examples of how you work to promote both your school and the organization?
We try to keep it local whenever possible. With area businesses, we will always advertise for them through our communications and news stories, giving them “shout-outs” and thanking them for their continued support. We also invite them to many of our school activities to see first-hand how their support is helping the program.

What is one of the best partnerships your school has created and why has it been good for your students?
We have many great partnerships, but the best is with our local ACF chapter. The collaboration between the chefs and businesses has helped our program become award-winning and visible throughout the state. We (students and myself) attend the meetings, we present our projects, we help with fundraising for the chapter, and we have an endless supply of chefs willing to share their knowledge and time with my students. My students often share how much working with the ACF chapter and chefs has shaped their attitudes and ideas about the culinary and hospitality industry.

Sponsorships

Why do you feel sponsorships are important to your culinary program?
It is critical to the success of our program to have sponsorships and lift the financial burden for students who maybe could not afford to be part of our program. Sponsorships help provide uniforms, food and other materials so that we can fulfill the requirements for ProStart certifications. We will always put our sponsors on our chef coats, so when we are at events, the public can see the sponsors who have supported our program.

Where do you find companies willing to sponsor your culinary program?
I just ask. It is easier to ask for sponsorships if I purchase their products or do business with them. I also share the successes of our program through various media outlets and this helps us to solicit sponsors. Sometimes they even call us and ask how they can help.

Can you describe your program’s sponsors?
One of our sponsors is Performance Foods. A salesperson actually reached out and asked to meet with me. They came with gifts and opportunities for how we could work together. They made the offer because they read about us and the program’s successes in the local newspaper and felt we needed to work together. They not only sponsor our program but every year they invite the culinary students to assist their chefs at their food show and allow our students to create recipes using their products. Performance Food employees showcase the food our students made. It really is a great opportunity that we build on each year.

Check out the pictures below featuring the Sauk Rapids-Rice High School culinary students appearing with various community partners.
Culinary team with our sponsors Rancher’s Legacy

Scholarships with Hospitality Minnesota

Fundraising dinner with our mentor chef at McGarry’s Pub

Students working at the Performance Foodshow

Taste of Minnesota

Working with Dave of Famous Dave’s Barbeque

Taste of Minnesota with James Beard Foundation Winner Sue Zelickson

Students working at the Performance Foodshow

Students working with the Midwest Dairy Association’s grilled cheese video

Making bread for a local food shelter