Before there was Jamie Oliver, there was Gracie Cavnar.

Starting Recipe for Success in Houston in 2003, Cavnar was an early proponent of bringing healthy food and food awareness to children in school. Her passion for this cause and the future of Recipe for Success are the subject of this week's Profile (10:30 tonight and 11 p.m. Friday night on Channel 8, Houston PBS) with host Greg Scheinman.

"Gracie is pretty much leading the charge against childhood obesity through her Recipe For Success Foundation," Scheinman says. "The cool thing about it is it's not out there preaching — it's about changing the way children understand and appreciate their food in a fun and interactive way.

"She's one of these really dynamic personalities that sees these huge problems and just says, 'I'm going to fix this, there's got to be a better way,' and as a foodie at heart she dove in and tapped her connections with a number of Houston's top chefs and restaurateurs created her incredible board of 45 — well, it started with 45, now there are 64 — of Houston's top chefs," Scheinman says. "From Monica Pope to Robert Del Grande and Randy Evans, you name it, through sheer will she's gotten people to participate and give their time to go into Houston schools and teach about food, seed to plate."

Scheinman and Cavnar started the Profile day with a visit to Sylvan Rodriguez Elementary School, where RDG's Robert Del Grande was leading a cooking class.

"Sylvan was one of her pilot schools, and we got to experience class with the kids see how much fun they have, make these healthy pizzas, they get a little science in there, really engaged and enjoying themselves. Kids aren't born with poor eating habits, they are developed, so Recipe for Success really makes healthy eating fun, and they respond enthusiastically," Scheinman says.

Cavnar and Recipe For Success have also been gaining local and national recognition as her initiatives are mirrored around the country, most famously in Michelle Obama's signature "Let's Move" program. For the First Lady's launch of the "Chefs Move To Schools" program, Cavnar and a large contingent of Recipe for Success chefs and staff joined others from around the country on the White House South Lawn.

"Gracie had this idea and developed it locally — one school, two schools, and now they're at the White House with the First Lady and have grown to national prominence. Her program here locally is being used as a template on a national level. America has caught up and realized this is vital," Scheinman says. "It's largely a testament to her that her program is similar to what Obama is trying to do nationwide. it was really a defining moment for Gracie to go there, it validated what she'd been working on here."

Scheinman and Cavnar finished the day at what will become Hope Farms, the largest urban agricultural program in the country.

"Right now it's this area near Reliant that's just open land. But one person sees a giant piece of dirt, another person sees a skyscraper," Scheinman says. "Gracie sees an organic farm run by children and some of the best chefs in Houston. She's working on developing the site, to prove that they can basically grow and do anything on this farm that they need and working with chef partners to decide what to grow and cultivate."

Scheinman says what sets Gracie apart is her vision, her passion, and also her tenacity.

"Her background has always been to work and to put her head and her heart into these things," Scheinman says. "She has the support of her husband Bob, and founding Recipe for Success was an educated, passionate decision for her. When you speak to her and spend time with her, she's very, very difficult to say no to. She knows what she wants and she's going to achieve it."

CultureMap is the official online home of Profile — and you can watch exclusive clips of all the episodes in the series (season one and the current season two) on our special Profile page.