Chef Ryan Binney (center), who leads the Iowa Culinary Institute® (ici®) at DMACC’s Baking and Pastry Arts program at the College’s Newton Campus, is flanked by current DMACC Baking and Pastry Arts students (left to right) Christina Oakley of Des Moines, a graduate of Des Moines North High School; Cruz Castruita of Des Moines, a graduate of Des Moines Lincoln High School; Carter Bixby of Norwalk, an alum of the Norwalk Community School District; and Pari McCaslin of Bondurant, a graduate of the Bondurant–Farrar Community School District, on Wed., Nov. 22, 2023, during order pick-up for the program’s Fourth Annual Thanksgiving Dinner Roll Fundraiser.
This year's fundraiser nearly tripled its previous record for total orders, with students preparing approximately 700 dozen – or 8,400 individual – dinner rolls to fill customer pre-orders just in time for Thanksgiving. The fundraiser’s previous record for total orders received was 263 dozen, which was set just last year (2022). Proceeds from this year's fundraiser will help fund DMACC student travel to the 2024 American Culinary Federation (ACF) National Convention in Phoenix.
Vern and Nancy Faber (foreground) of Des Moines are all smiles while stopping by the DMACC Urban Campus in downtown Des Moines to pick up their pre-order for four dozen dinner rolls through the DMACC Baking and Pastry Arts program's Fourth Annual Thanksgiving Dinner Roll Fundraiser. Members of the public could pre-order rolls online, by the dozen in white or whole wheat, with pick-up available from 10 a.m. to Noon on Wed., Nov. 22, 2023, at either the DMACC Newton Campus in Newton or the DMACC Urban Campus in Des Moines. The rolls, which cost $6 per dozen, were freshly baked by DMACC students and packaged in foil pans to make them easy for customers to heat up on Thanksgiving Day.
Pictured in the background are current DMACC Baking and Pastry Arts program students (left to right) Cruz Castruita of Des Moines, Pari McCaslin of Bondurant and Carter Bixby of Norwalk.
Cruz Castruita (right) of Des Moines, a current student in the Iowa Culinary Institute® (ici®) at DMACC’s Baking and Pastry Arts program, hands Becky Nalevanko (left) of Pleasant Hill her order of two dozen dinner rolls on Wed., Nov. 22, 2023, at the DMACC Urban Campus in downtown Des Moines. Castruita, a graduate of Des Moines Lincoln High School, said she plans to continue her education by enrolling in the Culinary Arts AAS degree program at the Iowa Culinary Institute® (ici®) at DMACC after completing the College's Baking and Pastry Arts diploma program, which is based at the DMACC Newton Campus.
Students who complete the Iowa Culinary Institute® (ici®) at DMACC’s Baking and Pastry Arts diploma program, which launched in 2020 and is offered exclusively at the DMACC Newton Campus, graduate as skilled baking artisans who are prepared to begin working or to continue on to earn a two-year culinary degree. The one-year program accepts new students every fall. To learn more, visit baking.dmacc.edu.
Lonnie Evans of Urbandale poses for a quick photo on Wed., Nov. 22, 2023, at the DMACC Urban Campus after picking up his order of a dozen dinner rolls through the DMACC Baking and Pastry Arts program's Fourth Annual Thanksgiving Dinner Roll Fundraiser. Evans said he learned about the fundraiser from his granddaughter, who is currently a student at the DMACC Ankeny Campus.
For more information, contact:
Chef Ryan Binney, Iowa Culinary Institute at DMACC, Baking and Pastry Arts Program, (641) 791-1706, rebinney@dmacc.edu
Lisa Schmitz, DMACC Marketing and Public Relations, (515) 964-6813, lmschmitz@dmacc.edu