School CAFE (Culinary Action for Education), a healthy food initiative for Mount Shasta students, is fiscally sponsored by the Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center.

In 2015, a Sisson School seventh grade student Maya Rawitch read her compelling essay to the MSUSD Board of Trustees pointing out that the school food was neither nutritious nor tasty and reporting on a survey of students confirming this viewpoint. The School Board was so impressed that they promptly created a Superintendent’s Committee of Barry Barnhart (superintendent), Maya and Ella Rawitch (students), Mary Saint-Marie, Colleen Shelly (parent), Laurel Kessler (school employee), and Wayne Kessler. Tara Gardner joined later.

Colleen Shelly, suggested the name School CAFE and formed the School CAFE Club, an after-school nutrition and cooking class for students at Sisson School.  While School CAFE is no longer a Superintendent’s Committee, members are passionate about, and actively providing free, fresh food to students in the Mount Shasta community.

At CAFE, we have gone through many iterations and evolutions, but what remains is a deep passion for improving access to healthy foods for our families on Mount Shasta and surrounding areas as well as providing them with the tools to know how to nourish their child’s growing mind and body.

This is our mission: to empower underserved youth with access to fresh, healthy, and sustainably sourced organic food, while nurturing an early appreciation for wholesome nutrition and regenerative farming practices. CAFE envisions a future where everyone thrives with access to fresh, healthy, and sustainable organic food. We cultivate appreciation for nutrition and regenerative farming, fostering a legacy of wellness, environmental stewardship, and community resilience.