Jeff Capps: Feeding Needs and Planting Seeds for a Better Tomorrow

“In my mind, being a father and teacher is why I was put on this earth,” says Jeff Capps, culinary arts instructor at Dunsmuir High. “It is not what I have to do, it is what I choose to do. It is what is most important to me when it comes to departing this earth; to be able to leave behind the knowledge and the values that were instilled in me by our ancestors.”

From humble beginnings

He started out here in the North State as a child of modest means. “We were not rolling in dough (pun intended), but my mom and dad would take us to dinner when they were able,” Jeff says. “We would have a great time together and enjoy a meal as a family – without having to do the dishes. A bonus!”

These early excursions left a lasting impact. Jeff wanted to provide that same experience to other families, which led him to Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though. His father died just 10 days before graduation. However, his parents had always modeled an unrelenting tenacity that inspired him to push through the heartbreak. As Jeff says, “Always chase your dreams; they won’t chase you.”

Homecoming, honing his skill set and finding footing on familiar soil

After graduating with honors, Jeff opened his first restaurant. He met and married a woman from his hometown of Yreka, and moved back to the North State, bringing his entrepreneurial spirit with him.

Jeff met his goal of providing that family dining experience on his home turf with a West-Mex restaurant in Montague. Tireless, Jeff created two more restaurants, a catering business and a product for a chain of supermarkets. He even consulted on, as he puts it, “at least two dozen other restaurants for other folks just as crazy as I was.”

He’s spent 25 years working in various aspects of the culinary business and from the beginning he was sharing what wisdom he had gained with employees and co-workers. “They taught me new tricks as well,” he says with an affable humility.

Jeff Capps and Dunsmuir High culinary arts students, winners of Celebrity Chef Award at the Cook Around The World competition at Walt Disney World in Florida, pose with renowned celebrity Chef Jet Tila and Mickey.

Jeff’s big switch from the restaurant game to teaching

Jeff had always loved nurturing inquisitive minds; and having weekends and summers free was ideal for the devoted father. Between two marriages, fostering and adoption, he’s been blessed with his own handful of wonderful kids ranging from 11 to 37. But 60–80-hour work weeks are an industry norm when running a restaurant, leaving little time for family.

When Siskiyou County’s director of career technical education reached out to Jeff, he jumped at the chance to be able to do what he loves while working a more family-friendly schedule. Being enthusiastic about both cooking and enriching young minds made heading the culinary arts program at Dunsmuir High School an easy choice. “Being able to be home for my family was the best move I ever made,” he says. “Besides being more available for my own kids, I had 60+ kids at work to take care of. Perfect for me.”

In these last 11 years in the school system, he’s helped students find the confidence to crush it in the kitchen. They develop the skills to handle not only adulthood, but myriad careers in the culinary field. In fact, when we last checked in with Jeff, he was preparing a handful of students for the Cook Around the World competition in Florida. The team went up against 85 other high schools and they won the Celebrity Chef Award from chef Jet Tila. “It was an incredible honor,” says Jeff.

Jeff Capps and Chef Jet Tila

Finding ways to give back beyond teaching

This do-it-all dad has coached softball, baseball and even remains a 4H leader for cooking. Being a force for good in his family and community is important to the 58-year-old educator. But these are not his only extracurriculars.

Schools were closed during the height of the pandemic, but Jeff understood that children still needed to eat. Social distancing provided challenges, so this single father brought the only people he could be around: his kids. Together, they prepared food in the school kitchen and served breakfasts and lunches through a side door at Dunsmuir High to anyone 18 and under.

Serving the community and not just the school, Jeff went from making 80 meals per day to around 240. Twice a week, they’d distribute six meals per child so no kid would go hungry. “It was awesome to be able to keep in touch with our students that year and a half, even if it was for a few moments and with our masks on. Crazy times.”

But the craziness didn’t end when school started up again. “Soon after the COVID nightmare calmed down, it was apparent to me that we have a great deal of food insecurities everywhere, not just in our neck of the woods. I started sending leftover food home daily for some, just on weekends for others and knew we needed to do more,” Jeff says.

Jeff started a food pantry at the high school, with his own donations and those from staff. The county contributed backpacks the kids could use when “shopping,” to avoid the shame that often comes with food insecurity. And he’s even had food boxes delivered over breaks for those in precarious circumstances, so no one goes without.

“I remind the staff and myself that if you are hungry, one of our most basic needs, you cannot think of much else except where your next meal is coming from,” Jeff says. They provide two breakfasts (for early birds and latecomers), lunch, afterschool snacks and all-day healthy snacks, preventing the crashes that may come with adolescent metabolisms. “Fulfilling a basic need is both gratifying and humbling at the same time. It’s why I enjoy my job so much.”

And Jeff isn’t slowing down. He says, “Moving forward, I would like to institute more ways to feed more people. It’s what I do and what makes me feel connected.” Between teaching, fatherhood and outreach, Jeff is constantly showing what a driven dreamer can accomplish with a generous helping of determination and an open heart.