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First Pilot Class Graduation

Sep 15 by olivia

The L.A. Kitchen team was humbled and inspired to witness the first Empower L.A. Culinary Arts and Nutrition Advocacy Training Class graduate last weekend.

This pilot program, funded in part by The California Wellness Foundation, is based in the kitchen at St. Vincent Meals on Wheels (StVMoW). During the 15-week program, trainees learned from L.A. Kitchen culinary staff, attended culinary and life skills workshops, successfully passed the ServeSafe exam, interned at some of L.A.’s finest food establishments, and are now working at great spots like The Bazaar by Jose Andres and the With Love Community Market and Café.

L.A. Kitchen is also proud to have hired Theresa Farthing, the class valedictorian, to join our team as the first alumni employee. She will help prepare meals for L.A. Kitchen’s first senior-meal contract with Affordable Living for the Aging (ALA), as well as act as a mentor and guide to countless men and women who will follow in her footsteps.

From D.C. Central Kitchen to the L.A. Kitchen, I’ve now had the pleasure of watching close to 100 classes graduate. Seeing people show up, speak up, rise up, and move on NEVER gets old. We aren’t wasting any time. L.A. Kitchen’s second pilot class will launch on October 1st, and I hope you’ll join us sometime soon to become a part of the L.A. Kitchen journey. Sign up to volunteer, support the work, or reach out to our team to get plugged in.

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Sister Alice Marie on Building Partnerships

Aug 4 by olivia

It’s a bit like having an older sister say “move over and share your room with me.” You love the idea but when she actually moves her stuff into your precious space, you wonder why you ever thought it was going to be fun.

And thus it was the first few days of June when LA Kitchen moved into St. Vincent Meals on Wheels Kitchen to launch its innovative pilot program focusing on culinary expertise, nutrition education and food-justice advocacy.

You would think that in 16,500 square feet, the kitchen wouldn’t get crowded with just an extra 15 or 20 people running around adding to the commotion. But it took a bit of adjustment I can assure you. For one thing, I had to turn down the volume on my Johnny Cash music I love so much. And for another, we couldn’t differentiate the LA Kitchen volunteers from the Meals on Wheels volunteers. And so it went, but I got used to not playing my music so loud and LA Kitchen issued name tags for their volunteers.

Like so much else in life, we all weathered the storm and now coexist happily and effectively in the Meals on Wheels kitchen. We still produce 4,000 meals a day to go out to homebound seniors while LA Kitchen stands with us to train its first class of Chef/Nutrition Advocates. The partnership is truly unique and we are all learning from one another. While we provide space for their program at no cost, LA Kitchen provides fresh produce prepped by their students at no cost to us. It is a little like bartering, something we used to do during the Depression. LA Kitchen is already providing enough prepped produce for us for two days of meals, that is 8000 meals! This is the kind of math we like.

We have learned a lot – a lot about each other and a lot about how we can work together to elevate the understanding of senior hunger while we help each other grow and mature into thoughtful and compassionate stewards for our seniors. This is our 37th year of answering the call for meals here in the City of Angels. And this year, we had some new angels who joined us in answering that call. Thank you to LA Kitchen for joining us to change some lives!

– Sister Alice Marie Quinn, Founder and Program Director of St. Vincent Meals on Wheels

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L.A. Kitchen Pilot Program at St. Vincent Meals on Wheels

May 5 by olivia
L.A. Kitchen is breaking ground at our new building, but we can’t wait to get started! With construction underway, L.A. Kitchen has called on its first local partner, St. Vincent Meals on Wheels (STVMOW), to begin the work of recovering and processing fresh produce, providing job training and employment for unemployed residents, and supporting partner agencies with nourishing food to strengthen the aging community in Los Angeles.

L.A. Kitchen and STVMOW have developed a pilot program, starting this spring, that will focus on recipe development, culinary job training, meal production, and volunteer engagement. Utilizing STVMOW’s midtown kitchen, L.A. Kitchen will:
- Train two classes of “Chef / Nutrition Advocates.” Utilizing the pioneering new Empower L.A. curriculum, L.A. Kitchen will equip graduates for employment AND the knowledge to help transform their communities. Students will be selected with the help of partner agencies that support older adults returning from prison and youth aging out of the foster care system
- Generate a cohort of graduates who will be the nucleus staff in L.A. Kitchen’s future facility, opening January 2015
- L.A. Kitchen will collaborate with local chefs to test new recipes based onplant-based, nutritious menu items with input from STVMOW staff and clients
- Partner with local farms and produce wholesalers to collect and process healthy food to support the meal programs of STVMOW
- Increase access to healthy menu choices for older adults facing a variety of nutrition-related health issues
STVMOW is the leading provider of nutritious meals to homebound older adults and other vulnerable residents across Los Angeles. In exchange for use of their commercial kitchen, L.A. Kitchen will provide STVMOW with healthy, affordable products for use in the 4,000+ meals they provide each day, saving them an estimated $50K. Together, the organizations will leverage proven strategies for preparing and distributing meals while developing innovative methods to meet the growing demand for locally sourced, plant-based food options.

This pilot program will allow L.A. Kitchen to further hone its training program, receive critical feedback, and engage community members in the process of building the organization. The resources and processes developed throughout the duration of the program will provide a strong foundation for L.A. Kitchen’s full-scale launch in early 2015.

Sign-up to volunteer with the pilot program at http://www.lakitchen.org/volunteer/. Space is limited!

Robert Egger and Sister Alice Marie Quinn, founder and program director of St. Vincent Meals on Wheels

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What Time Has Afforded L.A. Kitchen: BUILDING DEMO/CATION

Mar 3 by olivia

We are ELATED to announce that on May 1^stat 7pm we’ll be hosting a “Demo-Cation” event at our new home. We chose May Day because we are launching a full-on revolution…dedicated to replacing the traditional “service” model with dynamic, easily replicated solutions built upon equal access to healthy food, economic empowerment, inclusion, social enterprise and community engagement.

Immediately following this event, we will begin demolition, and then the build-out of our 20,000 sq. ft, bi-level kitchen, located just a block from the Lincoln Heights metro. When we open, many of the ideas behind our new model will have already been tested and proven via the pilot programs we are launching this spring with our partner, St. Vincent Meals on Wheels.

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Learn more about our period of rebuilding. Your donation will go towards fighting hunger, food waste, and unemployment in Los Angeles.

First Pilot Class Graduation

Sister Alice Marie on Building Partnerships

L.A. Kitchen Pilot Program at St. Vincent Meals on Wheels

What Time Has Afforded L.A. Kitchen: BUILDING DEMO/CATION

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