Culinary students from Richards Career Academy High School won this year’s Cooking up Change competition. Jeffrey Gonzalez, Naheisha Hitchcock, Raudel Ruiz and Edgar Villegas’ winning meal includes Vesuvio Chicken, Chopped Caesar Salad and Caramelized Pear-pone. The winning meal will be served at all Chicago Public Schools (CPS) next semester and the students win an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. in June for the Cooking up Change national competition. Students from 13 high schools across Chicago Public Schools gathered at Bridgeport Art Center to participate in the 10th Annual Cooking up Change culinary competition and benefit.

Cooking up Change by Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) challenges high school culinary students to create healthy, great-tasting meals that meet the real-life requirements of the school meal program, while also meeting the budget of about $1 per lunch. Cooking up Change serves up life-changing opportunities, helps students realize their own potential and puts student voices front and center in the national dialogue about school food. “These students have shown that it’s possible to work within the constraints of the district’s nutrition standards, and still make a healthy and delicious school meal that their peers will enjoy,” says Rochelle Davis, Healthy Schools Campaign’s President and CEO. “The winners will go on to Washington, D.C., to compete against teams from across the country, meet with policymakers and present their meals to Congress. It’s their opportunity to lend their voices to the national dialogue surrounding healthy school food.”