High school instructors are invited to apply for a free professional development program aimed at developing skills for integrating food and agricultural science into culinary and hospitality secondary classrooms.

The School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management in the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University received funding from the United States Department of Agriculture to offer five online courses and one in-person immersive, four-day summer workshop in Las Cruces, NM, over a one-and-a-half-year period.

“The ultimate goal is to train the next generation of culinarians and hospitality managers with the skills needed to ensure the effective and socially responsible use of resources from the producer to the end-user and consumers,” said Dr. Jean Hertzman, director of New Mexico State’s HRTM and editor of CAFÉ’s Journal for Culinary Education Best Practices.  

Participants will increase their knowledge of the course topics and receive extensive teaching resources, develop innovative classroom activities, and network with university faculty, industry and organization representatives as well as fellow high school teachers. The grant covers all costs associated with the courses and pertaining to the workshop including lodging, transportation, meals and all activities. Finally, participants receive stipends totaling $2,000 for completing the courses and workshop.

The five courses will cover agriculture and culinary connections; purchasing and supply chain management with an emphasis on local and sustainable foods; reduce, reuse, recycle in foodservice and hotels; agricultural innovation and entrepreneurship; and agricultural, culinary and rural tourism. Each course will take place over eight weeks and involves one to two online activity hours per week plus two Zoom sessions. The hands-on workshop will feature farm, agricultural science center, and food production facility visits, culinary demonstrations, and much more.

“The objective is to bring more knowledge of agriculture and sustainability into high school classrooms,” Hertzman said. “Essentially, we’re training the trainers – high school teachers – so their students can learn about these concepts and carry them into their future educational and professional endeavors.”

There are two available cohorts of 20 teachers. The next group (Cohort 2) starts on March 11, 2024, with a priority application deadline of March 1. The last group (Cohort 3) begins June 17 with a priority application deadline of June 10. Anticipated schedules for each cohort are available here or by contacting Dr. Jean Hertzman at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 575-646-4786.

To apply for the program, complete the short survey at Cohort Two Application or Cohort Three Application. Applicants will also need to submit a letter from their principal, program supervisor, or superintendent verifying approval of their participation.