MRLA Educational Foundation: Resourceful Summer Ahead
The MRLA Educational Foundation (MRLAEF) has spent the last year heavily focusing on securing support and relief for Michigan’s hospitality industry in response to the pandemic. In the summer season ahead, the MRLAEF is able to get back to its roots by hosting summer camp for Michigan ProStart students and launching several grant projects statewide.
MRLAEF Awarded USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant
The Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation will host a series of cooking videos and demonstrations that will improve the health of Michigan residents by increasing awareness, consumption, and preservation of Michigan Herbs and Spices. The cooking demonstrations will use Michigan grown herbs and spices to teach culinarians, students studying to become chefs, and consumers how to use herbs to create flavor and preserve herbs for yearlong use. These demonstrations will be recorded and hosted on MIHealthyFood.org for consumers to access a variety of recipes for specialty crops. MIHealthyFood.org will be promoted through radio public service announcements, social media advertisements and directly communicated through the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association communication platforms. In addition to the recorded demonstrations, a Michigan Herb and Spices Guide will be developed to provide profiles of each herb and spice, including what foods they pair best with and ways to incorporate the Michigan specialty crops year-round.
This $90,000 grant project runs April 1- September 30, 2021.
MRLAEF Awarded USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant
The Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation will host a series of cooking videos and demonstrations that will improve the health of Michigan residents by increasing awareness, consumption, and preservation of Michigan Herbs and Spices. The cooking demonstrations will use Michigan grown herbs and spices to teach culinarians, students studying to become chefs, and consumers how to use herbs to create flavor and preserve herbs for yearlong use. These demonstrations will be recorded and hosted on MIHealthyFood.org for consumers to access a variety of recipes for specialty crops. MIHealthyFood.org will be promoted through radio public service announcements, social media advertisements and directly communicated through the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association communication platforms. In addition to the recorded demonstrations, a Michigan Herb and Spices Guide will be developed to provide profiles of each herb and spice, including what foods they pair best with and ways to incorporate the Michigan specialty crops year-round.
This $90,000 grant project runs April 1- September 30, 2021.
Return of The Nate Santelli ProStart Summer Camp
The Nate Santelli ProStart Summer Camp was created in 2016 as a resourceful and educational experience for high school Michigan ProStart students. ProStart students spend four days at an Up North summer camp facility to learn from industry leaders in culinary, restaurant management, tabletop design and much more while developing team building skills. The ProStart Summer Camp was named in honor of the late Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association Education and Grant Manager, Nate Santelli, in 2017 to honor his memory and dedication to the Michigan ProStart Program.
The 2021 Camp will take place at Ferris State University, providing students with private dorm rooms and following all COVID-19 safety protocols. This year’s itinerary includes CliftonStrengths Assessment and Coaching, a tour of Ferris State University and the Hospitality School, a Big Rapids Farm Market experience, event production exercises, menu costing labs, limiting waste and upcycling practice, culinary skills labs with ProStart Alumni, and baking and pastry labs.
Interested in sponsoring a student or applying for a camp scholarship? Thanks to the generous support from The Nate Santelli ProStart Summer Camp donors, the MRLAEF has the ability to provide several scholarships for Camp! Apply before Tuesday, June 1 to be considered for access to a scholarship.
Anyone can help send a student to camp! Camp costs $300 per student and includes all of their meals and camp supplies. Donations of any amount towards The Nate Santelli ProStart Summer Camp help to assist in more student participation. More information on the camp, program offered, and sponsorships are available here.
The Nate Santelli ProStart Summer Camp was created in 2016 as a resourceful and educational experience for high school Michigan ProStart students. ProStart students spend four days at an Up North summer camp facility to learn from industry leaders in culinary, restaurant management, tabletop design and much more while developing team building skills. The ProStart Summer Camp was named in honor of the late Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association Education and Grant Manager, Nate Santelli, in 2017 to honor his memory and dedication to the Michigan ProStart Program.
The 2021 Camp will take place at Ferris State University, providing students with private dorm rooms and following all COVID-19 safety protocols. This year’s itinerary includes CliftonStrengths Assessment and Coaching, a tour of Ferris State University and the Hospitality School, a Big Rapids Farm Market experience, event production exercises, menu costing labs, limiting waste and upcycling practice, culinary skills labs with ProStart Alumni, and baking and pastry labs.
Interested in sponsoring a student or applying for a camp scholarship? Thanks to the generous support from The Nate Santelli ProStart Summer Camp donors, the MRLAEF has the ability to provide several scholarships for Camp! Apply before Tuesday, June 1 to be considered for access to a scholarship.
Anyone can help send a student to camp! Camp costs $300 per student and includes all of their meals and camp supplies. Donations of any amount towards The Nate Santelli ProStart Summer Camp help to assist in more student participation. More information on the camp, program offered, and sponsorships are available here.
SCRUB Club: Free Food Safety Education Course Designed for Classroom Learning and Youth
The Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association (MRLA) has launched SCRUB Club, a free online food safety education course developed for middle school-aged children and their families, available through September 1. The collection of resources encompasses core food safety principles: time and temperature, cross-contamination, basic sanitation, and most importantly, proper handwashing. “Youth are spending more time in the kitchen cooking, and they need to know basic food safety for their health and well-being,” said Amanda Smith, Executive Vice President, Education of the MRLA. “We want to share our extensive resources with the public in an informative, accessible way. The SCRUB Club will help ensure children and their families are consuming food that was properly prepared and stored, promoting good health.” The MRLA regularly hosts ServSafe training for industry professionals in addition to producing food safety training aids for the foodservice industry and adult consumer. Designed for use in the classroom or as a family, the SCRUB Club was created by the MRLA and iTacit, and made possible with funds from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Michigan Food Law of 2000, Act No 92, Food Safety Education Fund. There are four courses online at www.MichiganFoodSafety.com: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill. When creating a free login, families are encouraged to register for the student course and educators should sign up for the teacher course. Prior to taking the first course, a brief questionnaire tests basic food safety knowledge. A similar test is provided at the conclusion of the four SCRUB Club courses. There is no cost to participate in SCRUB Club’s online food safety education course. Lesson plans and activities are provided for teachers, including the A-Z Index for Foodborne Illness; CDC and Food Safety; and Safer Food Saves Live. One of the classroom activities, the Hand Washing Experiment, explores how germs spread and how cleanliness increases with proper handwashing by using soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Teachers are encouraged to enter the MRLA’s Michigan Food Safety Video Contest. The video should address one of the four core food safety principles: clean, separate, cook or chill. Videos must be submitted by 5 p.m. on May 28. The first-place video will be added to the association’s food safety video collection at www.MichiganFoodSafety.com, and will be viewable by the public. Teachers of classrooms submitting the top three videos will receive a gift card to use for their classroom. The teacher of the class awarded first-place will receive $500, followed by $300 and $200 awards for second and third place, respectively. Winners will be announced on June 4. Any Michigan classroom that has 60 percent of the students complete the SCRUB Club course can submit a video. It is the responsibility of the teacher submitting the video to secure permission for the students to participate per their local school district's standards. Resources provided to families include charts detailing how long food can safely be stored in the refrigerator and freezer, and links to a food safety glossary, and extensive food safety information from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). |