2025 UPDATE
As we head into the holiday season we would like to report on what has happened this past year with the Spencer Streetman Memorial Fund. You have continued to honor Spencer with donations to his fund, for which we are grateful. It means so much to us that you still hold Spencer in your hearts and that you choose to remember him in this way.
The Cooking for Recovery class at the Boston Medical Center continues to expand its reach. The class, created in 2017 and dedicated to Spencer, is modeled after the class that Spencer had started in his last year as he searched for ways to help his own recovery chances and those of others. He instinctively knew that he needed to address his nutritional needs as part of his efforts to get well. Now this is accepted practice. It was not in 2014. The Cooking for Recovery class, under the direction of Gaby Simons at the Boston Medical Center, is having an impact. We recently attended a Wednesday class and saw first-hand the difference this class is making in the lives of these patients.
The atmosphere was joyful, welcoming, respectful, fun. The patients were happy to have us there and were very interested in hearing all about Spencer and his vision of providing just such an opportunity. Gaby has expanded the reach of the program to include outside groups. She has started a six-week class which focuses on nutrition and culinary skills. If you would like to see Gaby present a recipe, please watch this YouTube video.
We continue to support the Spencer E. Streetman ‘97 Fund at the Fenn School, which provides assistance to financial aid students in the fifth grade for their spring retreat at Camp Merrowvista. These two institutions were very important to Spencer.
Our third contribution was to the World Central Kitchen to assist in their recovery efforts in Jamaica. Spencer was a huge fan of Jose Andres and the World Central Kitchen and the wonderful work that they do. He also loved Jamaica.
This has been a difficult year for all non-profits. With the help of Spencer’s friends and family we hope we can make a difference, in Spencer’s honor.
More Information
THE FENN SCHOOL & CAMP MERROWVISTA
In 2019 we established a permanently endowed fund at the Fenn School in Concord which Spencer attended for six years. Spencer also attended Camp Merrowvista in New Hampshire for six summers. Both places helped him to become the exceptional person that he was and were two of the most formative and happiest experiences of his life.
Since 2000, Fenn has partnered with Merrowvista to offer an annual three-day overnight trip that is the culmination of the Lower School experience. The Spencer E. Streetman ‘97 Fund will support boys who receive financial assistance at Fenn so that they all will have the opportunity to participate in the Merrowvista experience.
More information on the Spencer E. Streetman ‘97 Fund can be found on Fenn’s webpage for Endowment Giving.
Article on the Spencer E. Streetman ‘97 Fund that appeared in Fenn’s 2018-2019 Report on Giving:
COOKING FOR RECOVERY CLASS AT THE BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER
During the summer of 2018, our family met with Michael Botticelli who runs the Grayken Center for Addiction at the Boston Medical Center. One of the many stories we told him about Spencer was the story of Spencer’s time spent in rehab and his concern for the lack of attention to the food which was being served. Spencer was also concerned that many of the young people who were in the house had come from living on the streets and did not know how to eat in a healthy manner. For many it had been some time since they had had the opportunity to sit at a table for a proper meal.
Spencer convinced the house leaders to allow him to cook a special dinner on Wednesday evenings. He worked with 3 or 4 young men each week. He took them to Market Basket to buy what they would need to prepare the meal for that evening. They then spent the afternoon as Spencer’s sous chefs, prepping the 5 course meal to be served to the entire house. Spencer taught them knife skills, organizational skills, how to set a table, how to present a healthy meal and how to enjoy the time spent with others eating good food and appreciating the experience. In doing this, he taught them respect for one another and for themselves. He was very proud of this experience and he really felt that by sharing his love of food he was helping others as well as himself.
Michael Botticelli listened to this story with great interest. In the months following our visit he initiated the Cooking for Recovery Class at the Boston Medical Center Teaching Kitchen. Cooking for Recovery aims to enhance participants' self-care tool box through nutrition education, addressing body-image concerns, and teaching life-skills such as meal planning and preparing balanced meals and snacks on a budget. There are many people currently being helped by this program – a direct result of our conversation with Michael Botticelli who was inspired by Spencer.
Currently the Cooking for Recovery Program partners with two treatment clinics at BMC’s Grayken Center for Addiction: the Stimulant Treatment and Recovery Team (START) clinic, which works with patients who use stimulants, and CATALYST, which works with teens and young adults who use drugs. It also runs groups in the community with the help of EMO Health.
We have been able to attend a few classes at the teaching kitchen and have been so impressed. Patients are taught simple recipes and then sent to the rooftop garden to gather ingredients they will need to prepare the meal. The teacher makes cooking and eating well feel possible, a goal that can be reached. The classes are joyful, hopeful, informative and fun. There is a sense of camaraderie and enthusiasm. Spencer would have loved teaching such a class. We are proud to have his name associated with such a special organization.
Links to learn more:
To learn more about the program, offerings, and recent recipes, visit the BMC’s Cooking for Recovery website.
To see the instructor, Gabby, present a recipe, watch this YouTube video.
Cooking For Recovery has also been written about in HealthCity and at Boston.com.
More information on the Grayken Center for Addiction is available on their webpage.
