Recipes For Change - About our work

Recipes for Change is a localized society created to evoke social change by inspiring and educating people through gastronomy, volunteer programs, educational workshops and fundraising events. Our aim is to unite Miami’s local community in order to educate the next generation and to nourish at-risk communities.

During our work, we came across a gap within the food system. In the United States there is an increasing disconnect between us and our food. For most people, they don’t think about how their food got the the grocery store, where it came from, how many will actually be eaten? Without programs or education to change that, it will continue getting worst. Homeless shelters and community kitchens have a massive positive social impact – they give people a safe place to be and food to eat, however, for these communities at risk, the disconnect between them and their food is even greater.

Our Goal

Our goal is to support community kitchens as an external consultant by bringing regular volunteers and donations, while developing workshops to bring awareness and teach at risk communities about healthy nutrition, cooking on a budget, and the importance of food waste. We want to implement real world skills that can last a lifetime.

Our Vision

We believe lives can be saved, and the world can be changed by bringing awareness to ecological and social initiatives, both locally and global, through the power of food.

It’s nearly been 2 years since Hurricane Irma hit South Florida. As chefs, we immediately felt the impact of the aftermath. After the hurricane hit, we stopped receiving produce. Concerned, we reached out to our supplier with no responses. Within a few days, Tamerfrom Harpke Family Farm told us their farm had been destroyed and was unable to provide more produce. Chef and RFC founder Chef Santiago Gomez wanted to do something to help. Together, with Cami Basgmati and other local/international chefs including Carlos Garcia, he formed a team to host an event with the goal of raising funds to help Harpke Family Farms rebuild.

The event raised over $10,000, and became the origin of Recipes For Change. It all started with a need to unify the local industry under a great cause.

At the end of that year, Chef Massimo Bottura came to visit Miami and we had the pleasure of sharing time with him. We were inspired by the impacts he has had on gastronomy and his social projects. Soon after we became the 11th Hub of the Social Gastronomy Movement with the mission of changing lives and social situations through food. This movement, made up of over 70 people across the world, gave fuel to our Community kitchen activations. Partnering up with Camillus House, Recipes for change now serves over 400 less-fortunate people in Miami each month, with the help of local chefs and restauranteurs.

These last few years have been an amazing journey of discovery and healing. Thank you to all our volunteers, donors, and our community for the immense support.