With the cafeteria doors still closed but the line of attendees for their Cooking for Change fundraiser stretching down the hall, Liz Lowney called her staff of four dozen Linden Avenue Middle School students together to go over final instructions.
“The energy was palpable,” she said. “You could just feel the kids were electric and ready and nervous.”
Over the next two hours, the LAMS students and several adult volunteers served the more than 250 attendees authentic Mexican food and raised more than $4,200 in donations for a community kitchen in the Yucatan peninsula, Comedor Zarigüeyas.
“It was magical,” Lowney, a Spanish teacher and event organizer, said of the first-time event coming together to benefit the small community in Merida, Mexico. “The show of support from the Red Hook community was overwhelming.”
Cooking for Change marked the culmination of an educational unit in Lowney’s eighth-grade Spanish class; those taking part included her students plus the school’s International Club, which she advises. It was inspired by Lowney’s personal experience learning about and working with Zarigüeyas over the summer.
The community kitchen was founded in 2020 by a group of mothers who wanted to ensure their kids had something to consistently eat in an area where resources are scarce. The kitchen today feeds 65 kids and 30 mothers on just $35 each day. Lowney called the $4,200-plus raised “a game-changer,” which should finance Zarigüeyas for close to four months.
The students in recent weeks learned about Zarigüeyas and the Yucatan peninsula’s culture, and learned how to make a selection of dishes from a couple of district parents of Mexican descent. Last week they engaged in a Zoom call with Nini Gongora, who works in support of Zarigüeyas, to learn more about the organization and better understand how the donations will benefit members of its community.
The event itself, a free meal open to the public with donations encouraged, entailed the 51 students cooking and serving the dishes, with assistance from several volunteers and the head of LAMS’ kitchen, Frank McCann.
“I owe my life to Frank McCann in the kitchen,” Lowney said, calling him “a superstar. He was so great with the kids and he’s used to cooking for the masses.”
Lowney estimated there were as many as 300 attendees, many of whom praised the students.
“They were self-managing and learning leadership skills and social skills, interacting with strangers,” Lowney said. “The kids were phenomenal. They had their jobs, they knew them, they all came dressed all in black, they were very official. I got a lot of compliments from people about how professional they were.”
Nearly 20 local organizations donated various ingredients and items, as did several district families, allowing the event to operate at no cost. There was more than enough food despite the larger-than-expected turnout, though at one point Lowney’s father had to make a grocery store run for more tortillas.
There was also an activity table for young kids and educational installations to learn more about Zarigueyas and Dia de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, which was Nov. 1-2.
Though the dinner is over, the students’ work will continue, reflecting on Cooking for Change’s success and what more could be done.
“Part two of this project is to come up with some way to sustain the impact of this,” she said. “How can we continue to support? We can’t do this event every week, but we can do other things.”
And, yes, Lowney plans to repeat Cooking for Change next year, armed with lessons learned Wednesday night and a new class of eighth grade students stepping into key roles.
“The students learned so much from this experience. Of course, the point is to raise money, but the point is also to teach them the hundred-different skills and things they can learn from doing this event,” Lowney said, before laughing, “They’re also very tired today.”

Donors included: