Individuals pursuing careers in the culinary arts must learn about more than cooking techniques, flavor combinations and presentation. Often, careers in this field require professionals to step out of the kitchen and develop innovative ways to get food to consumers with regard to a variety of constraints. In this manner, culinary degrees can give students practical insights about how limited resources, costs and health concerns all play roles in feeding a nation.

The Healthy Schools Campaign, a nonprofit organization that supports healthy school environments, sponsored the Cooking up Change competition last week to simulate the conditions under which many public schools must afford to feed hundreds of students each day, Medill reports.

The competition brought culinary professionals to 15 Chicago public schools and asked students to make nutritious school lunches for less than one dollar per meal. According to Rochelle Davis, executive director of the Healthy Schools Campaign, said most school districts must spend less than two dollars on food, labor, facilities and administrative costs for each school lunch.

"We're really hoping that the participants take a career choice away from this," Davis told the news source.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage and salary earnings of institution and cafeteria cooks was $20,410 in 2006.