20237704039223

The proposed project integrates several disciplines including hospitality administration, foodservice and culinary management, natural sciences, and agriculture. Successful Latino farm-to-table workers start with full knowledge and understanding of the basic partners in the food chain: farmers, ranchers, artisans, vintners, producers, and distributors.

At the UPRCA, the students will go directly to the field to understand what it takes to bring locally produced ingredients to the commercial kitchen. Participants will discover various farming and production methods, the advantages of buying local, and how to make the best sustainable and ethical ingredient choices throughout their F&B and culinary careers. Students will also be exposed to several natural sciences disciplines related to food safety, covering information about takeout food safety, grocery shopping, bulk meat sales, face coverings and personal protection equipment, produce concerns, retail establishments sanitation, foodservice employee health, receiving, storing, preparing, and packaging food, food banks, farmers markets, agribusiness, and gardening.

The academic programs of F&B operations management and culinary arts need strong connections to the agricultural sciences and related disciplines in order to support food safety and efficiency. During these challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is especially important that chefs, restaurateurs, and consumers have a safe and strong food supply. USDA Extension food safety programs nationwide recognize that consumers and the foodservice industry need reliable COVID-19 and food safety information to keep the food supply secure and to learn how to mitigate community spread of the virus. It is critical that hospitality management and culinary arts students are trained with up-to-date knowledge and skills in adequate food production facilities to make use of the most current developments and best practices in the area of food safety.

According to the Puerto Rico Restaurant Association (ASORE), there are approximately 4,000 restaurants on the island, a particularly important economic sector that represents $2 billion in sales in 2021, representing 6.4% of retail sales in Puerto Rico. The local and federal governments have identified the need to reduce cases of foodborne illnesses, food contamination, and food poisoning. According to Puerto Rico's Department of Health, socioeconomic factors, cultural factors, and food-handling practices all play a part.

In recent years, more restaurants and chefs in Puerto Rico have taken part in a world-renowned movement known as farm-to-table, a trend that strives to serve dishes that include the freshest local ingredients, preferably from an on-site garden or farm. Each region consumes what is produced within it. The concept is also intimately linked to organic farming and sustainable agricultural practices. The best-known chefs within the farm-to-table trend on the island are part of a new generation of local experts who have managed to stand out without distancing themselves from the signature Puerto Rican flavors. These are chefs whose creations have been reviewed internationally by top food critics and renowned F&B publications. Locals and foreign visitors alike have enjoyed the sublime cultural and culinary experience in these distinctive restaurants, and the government of Puerto Rico, through the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, has promoted these farm-to-table operations. However, no hospitality management and/or culinary arts programs on the island prepares its graduates to become active participants and entrepreneurs in the Latino farm-to-table business model and ecosystem.

To provide this much-needed training to students and agricultural workers, the SHRA has identified the need to revise the courses that focus on F&B operations management in the Bachelor's degree in Hotel and Restaurant Administration, as well as the imperative need to create an Associate degree in Culinary Arts with strong food safety and Latino farm-to-table components. This is the first time that programs with those two focuses will be developed in Puerto Rico. The SHRA Dean and faculty have participated in meetings with students, the advisory board, professional associations, and alumni to discuss the need for the revision of F&B courses and the new academic program in Culinary Arts and have actively listened to their opinions, recommendations, and needs.

The development of a unique and innovative Culinary Arts program with a strong Latino farm-to-table focus will provide students with a profound knowledge of where food ingredients come from, the advantages of buying local produce, various farming and production methods, and how to continue to make the best sustainable and ethical agricultural product choices throughout their culinary careers. In addition, an emphasis on food safety is especially important because F&B businesses are full of safety hazards such as cleaning chemicals, broken glass, bacteria, viruses, and toxins, among others, and the only way to protect customers, the business, and employees is through ongoing food safety training, practice, and education. Participants in the NRA ServSafe certificate course will acquire the skills and knowledge required to handle food safely and uphold high standards of hygiene and cleanliness. Well-trained and certified food handlers coupled with a complete and up-to-date food safety guide are the keys to ensuring food safety in the foodservice industry.

SHRA will closely collaborate with the USDA- Food and Nutrition Services Office in Puerto Rico and with the Innovation Fund for Agricultural Development in Puerto Rico (FIDA) to participate in events related to this proposal. This joint effort will offer participants the opportunity to connect with and shadow farm owners and restaurant chefs who are practicing strict food safety protocols and farm-to-table procedures.

The new and innovative Associate degree in Culinary Arts of the UPRCA with its food safety and farm-to-table focus will begin in the second year of the USDA HSI project with the recruitment of an initial group of 20 students.

University Of Puerto Rico At Carolina

10.223 - Hispanic Serving Institutions Education Grants

Institute of Youth, Family, and Community (IYFC) [USDA - NIFA]

Carolina, Puerto Rico 00987 United States

Single Zip Code

None

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have decreased 50% from $478,790 to $239,395.