York City Students to Dish Up “Belonging Banquet” After Summer of Cooking, Culture, and Connection at YCP’s Center for Community Engagement
After eight weeks of blending culinary arts, culture, and connection, eleven York City School District students are ready to showcase their skills, and their stories, at The Belonging Banquet, the culminating celebration of Morales Kitchen’s Cooking Up Connection: The Recipe for Belonging program.
The banquet will be held Friday, August 15, 2025, at 5:00 PM at York College’s Gunter-Smith Center for Community Engagement at 59 East Market Street. Guests will be treated to a menu created entirely by the students, each dish reflecting lessons learned about identity, belonging, and the power of sharing a meal.
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. The program, offered free to participants thanks to a $6,950 grant from the Rotary Club of York, launched in February 2025 and has already reached over 400 students in the York City School District. This summer’s intensive eight-week version gave participants the opportunity to work in York College’s commercial kitchen, learn from guest chefs, participate in storytelling workshops, and explore leadership, creativity, and cultural pride.
“This program isn’t just about recipes, it’s about recognition,” said Liz Morales, creator of Cooking Up Connection. “These young people have spent the summer discovering that their voices matter, their cultures are beautiful, and they have the power to bring people together. The Belonging Banquet is their way of saying: ‘We set the table, and everyone has a seat.’”
For Carly Legg-Wood, Executive Director of the Center for Community Engagement, the banquet represents more than a meal, it’s a vision brought to life. “Cooking Up Connection embodies everything we believe in at the CCE: youth empowerment, creative learning, and community healing,” Legg-Wood said. “When young people have a safe space to lead, create, and share their culture, the whole community benefits. The Belonging Banquet is a celebration of their growth, and we’re honored to host it here after watching them learn in our kitchen for the last eight weeks.”
Throughout the summer, students have explored what it means to belong, both in the kitchen and in the wider community. At the banquet, they’ll present their final culinary projects alongside stories of how the program has shaped their confidence, teamwork skills, and sense of identity.
“The dishes you’ll see on the table are the end product,” Morales added. “But the real magic is the transformation you see in the students themselves. They’re not just cooking food — they’re cooking up connection, leadership, and hope.”
Guests attending the banquet were asked to RSVP ahead of time.
Event Details:
The Belonging Banquet
Friday, August 15, 2025 at 5:00 PM
York College Gunter-Smith Center for Community Engagement
59 East Market Street, York, PA
Media wanting to cover the banquet may RSVP to Julie Loeper by Friday, Aug. 15 at 4:00 p.m. at jloeper@ycp.edu or by calling/texting 717-668-6057.
