Join Rodeo Realty, TBT foods by Tara & L.A. Kitchen at St. Vincent Meals on Wheels this fall to help transform fresh, nutritious, and locally sourced produce into healthy meals for low-income residents across Los Angeles. In Los Angeles alone, around 18 million pounds (9,000 tons) of food are disposed of every day. L.A. Kitchen’s mission is to reclaim healthy, local food that would otherwise go to waste, and use it to empower, nourish, and engage the community.
L.A. Kitchen will recruit Angelenos to volunteer in our commercial kitchen and processing hub, where they will help transform raw fruits and vegetables into nutritious meals and snacks. L.A. Kitchen volunteers will represent a wide cross section of our community, and we will specialize in providing intergenerational volunteers opportunities that engage both older adults and LAUSD students. Volunteers will work side-by- side with job trainee students and graduates, challenging traditional barriers that divide communities.
Working directly with local farmers and produce wholesale companies, LA Kitchen will collect fruits and vegetables that are unsalable due to cosmetic issues or lack of commercial demand. All donated and purchased food will be transformed into healthy meals, snacks, and food products by volunteers, students, and staff at their health-code approved processing hub.
With a culinary program in the works, on-staff social workers will focus on the needs of emancipated foster youth and older adults transitioning out of incarceration, and this unlikely and powerful pairing will both help reduce systemic patterns of recidivism, and reverse anticipated outcomes for foster youth with little transitional support. Throughout the 15-week training cycle, students will receive daily hands-on training from a certified culinary instructor, attend sessions on specialized techniques taught by local guest chefs, and intern with innovative industry professionals. Graduates will receive food handling certificates, job placement support, and continuing personal and professional support.
www.tbtfoods.com
http://www.lakitchen.org/
