Care From Scratch: Changing Lives One Culinary Class at a Time at The Next Door
From The Next Door Inc.:
By Jordan Flores
The Dalles, Ore., Dec. 29, 2025 — Some of the most fulfilling work doesn’t happen in front of an audience. For Mark, it happens in kitchens, in gardens, and in small, but powerful, everyday moments.
A natural-born chef, Mark knew that his skills were marketable and that if he honed them, he could create a stable future for his family. Driven by responsibility and his passion for cooking, Mark began a decades-long career in the food and beverage industry.
Over the years, he worked nearly every role possible from washing dishes to cooking on the line, to waiting tables, bartending, and managing front and back-of-house staff. His last job in field sales paid well, but over time, it came at a cost; one Mark was no longer willing to pay. Each day, he put on a suit and tie and sold groceries to restaurants, and each day, he dreaded it. The work was exhausting, metric-driven, and joyless.
When Mark saw an ad in the paper for a job at The Next Door, he applied immediately. At first, his role was simple and interaction with students minimal: make breakfast and lunch and complete a basic production record. But over the last 12 years, Mark helped transform what was once a state-funded program, restricted by tedious recordkeeping and adherence to strict guidelines, into a hands-on, farm-to-school learning experience for students at TNDI's Klahre House.
Now, as the School Nutrition Program Coordinator, Mark teaches students the fundamentals of cooking, gardening, and beekeeping. Fruits and vegetables grown in the school’s garden, including corn, garlic, lettuce, peppers, and tomatoes, are now used to make salsas, soups, salads, and more for the students’ meals each day. Every week, students rotate through culinary class with Mark, tending to the school garden and beehives, and volunteering at the local food bank.
In culinary class, they don’t just follow recipes; they learn what they’re capable of. In a recent class, students chose to make a tuna noodle casserole with two requirements from Mark: no canned sauce and the noodles must be made from scratch. He wanted them to learn that with a few basic ingredients and techniques, they can feed themselves well, know exactly what goes into their food, and develop lifelong skills. In learning to cook from scratch, students benefit from more than preparing a meal they're proud of; they also gain confidence, control, and trust in their decision-making abilities.
Beyond his culinary and gardening skills, Mark is a calm, steady presence for students. Raised in a loving, supportive home with a father who worked in the mental health field, he learned early on that people respond best when they are met with patience. Mark applies this trauma-informed care every day as a positive role model for students, helping them slow down, respond thoughtfully, and collaboratively problem solve when faced with challenges. Through his guidance, students learn positive behaviors that they can carry into adulthood so that when they start their own families, they won’t repeat the cycles they experienced as children.
Mark no longer chases numbers or metrics. Instead, he’s found a place where the work is deeper and measured in human growth; where success is defined by a student who learns to recover from a mistake without shame, who begins to trust in themselves and their abilities, or realizes that their future doesn’t have to mirror their past.
Through this work, Mark has found more than just a way to make a living; he's found joy, fulfillment, and purpose in caring for others.
The Next Door Inc. (TNDI), founded in 1971 , is the largest social service agency in the Gorge, serving over 13,000 people annually in a seven-county region across Oregon and Washington. With over 35 programs, TNDI supports and empowers children and families, striving to fulfill our mission of opening doors to new possibilities by strengthening children and families and improving communities. For more information, please visit https://nextdoorinc.org/
Support Local News!
Available for Everyone; Funded by Readers.
