Saturday, March 15, 2025
Three juniors from John F. Kennedy High School prepared a four-course meal for donors as part of the Cooking for a Cause 2025 Fundraiser, collecting over $750 for Island Harvest on Feb. 1.
Merrick residents Matthew Klein, Alyssa Beznicki and Oriana Merzlyak are students enrolled in JFK’s Culinary Hospitality and Applied Management Program, also known as CHAMP, which teaches students about cooking and running businesses. They met in the program last year, and now share a vision of keeping the community well fed.
The MAO team, named using each student’s first initial, comes together once a month to create a four-course tasting menu. The meal is made from scratch, and highlights each chef’s specialties, from dinners to desserts.
“We do it because we all enjoy cooking, but even for us, it’s not enough,” Merzlyak said. “We decided to start doing it out of school, just for fun, and we thought, why don’t we invite people and cook for them? We decided that the money we collect from it, we would donate.”
“We love doing what we’re doing,” Klein added of their thinking. “It would be so amazing if we could give back to the community in a way. “We’re fortunate enough to have everything we need in life to succeed, and some people aren’t as fortunate. So we want to have the opportunity to help people who really need help.”
MAO’s fundraisers began last August, and have become a monthly tradition for their families, usually held at one of their homes. For each meal, the team thoroughly vets new recipes that will test their skills and practices until the day of the fundraiser.
Their love of cooking, they said, came from their families. “It started as my grandfather was a chef,” Beznicki said. “He was in the culinary industry for years. When I was younger, I would cook with him.”
Through cooking, Beznicki was able to overcome the language barrier between her and her grandfather, and share their love of cooking.
“My mom and I used to bake all the time together, for every event,” Klein recalled. “It inspired me to bake a lot. I’ve never been the biggest into cooking, but it’s really when I cooked with my friends that it really opened my horizons.”
Lauren and Randy Klein, Matthew’s parents, said he has been interested in baking since he was a child, and they have watched him grow into a chef.
“Matthew has always impressed us with his innovative ideas and his determination to bring them to fruition,” Lauren Klein said. “MAO is an initiative that combines these students’ passion for cooking with the fight against hunger, and I think that this was the best way to do that for them. I’m really proud of my son, and all three of these young adults, for spearheading this initiative on their own.”
The Kleins are co-owners of Paul Evan’s Catering in Island Park.
“They’re really hardworking, they’re dedicated, they love doing it, and it’s great,” Randy said of MAO. “For me and for my wife, as owners of a restaurant, seeing our son have the passion to do something that’s exciting to us.”
The diners who attend the team’s fundraisers are frequently friends and family members who make donations to Island Harvest Food Bank, a nonprofit food charity that relieves hunger for people across Long Island.
“Students participating in JFK’s culinary program are to be commended for their unique fundraising efforts to help Island Harvest in our mission to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island,” Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of Island Harvest, said. “The people we serve will certainly benefit from the students’ generosity, and we hope the lesson of compassion and helping improve the lives of others will stay with them throughout their lives. We know that young adults can and certainly do make a difference.”
To donate to Island Harvest, visit IslandHarvest.Org.
