Setting the Table for Change: York Program Blends Food, Culture, and Belonging
A new youth program rooted in culinary arts is cooking up more than meals in York; it’s cultivating belonging, leadership, and healing for local students.
Thanks to a $6,950 grant from the Rotary Club of York, Cooking Up Connection: The Recipe for Belonging will officially kick off its summer program the first week of July at the Gunter-Smith Center for Community Engagement (CCE) at York College. The grant makes it possible to offer the program free of charge to participants and marks a growing partnership between community, campus, and local changemakers.
Created by Liz Morales of Morales Kitchen LLC, Cooking Up Connection is a culinary arts-based youth development program that uses food as a medium to build identity, community, and emotional wellness.
“This program isn’t just about cooking, it's about creating space,” said Morales. “It’s designed especially for young people who often feel overlooked or left out, and it invites them to take the lead in building something meaningful. Through hands-on food preparation, storytelling, and collaborative discussion, students gain life skills like teamwork, conflict resolution, and empathy.”
Since its launch in February 2025, Cooking Up Connection has already reached over 400 BIPOC students in the York City School District. This summer, an intensive 8-week version of the program will run at the CCE, culminating in a public “commUNITY Belonging Banquet.” Students will invite community members to share a meal they’ve created from scratch.
“That table is more than a meal, it’s a metaphor for the room they've always wanted to be invited into,” Morales said. “With this program, they’re not just being invited in — they're setting the table themselves, and extending that invitation to others. It’s a powerful act of reclaiming space and redefining what it means to belong.”
This summer’s program will make use of the CCE’s commercial kitchen facility and will include guest chefs, storytelling workshops, and arts-based documentation, giving students the tools to explore leadership, creativity, and cultural pride.
Executive Director of the Center for Community Engagement Carly Legg Wood said she is proud to support the program.
“Cooking Up Connection embodies everything we believe in at the CCE: youth empowerment, creative learning, and community healing,” said Legg Wood. “Our commercial kitchen is a hub for community programming centered around food, culture, and community connection. It’s a place where young people feel safe, seen, and inspired to lead. We’re thrilled to partner with Liz Morales and the Rotary Club of York to bring this vision to life.”
Morales emphasized the importance of these collaborations in building a sustainable movement.
“When a young person walks into a kitchen and realizes their voice matters, that their culture is beautiful, and that they are capable of leading — that’s when real transformation begins,” she said. “We’re building more than meals. We’re building futures. Right here in York.”
There are still spots available for interested students who attend a Title I school in the York City School District. Please email Moraleskitchenllc@gmail.com to sign up.
