Recipient Organization
COMMUNITY KITCHEN PITTSBURGH
107 FLOWERS AVE
PITTSBURGH,PA 15207
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Community Kitchen Pittsburgh: Strengthening Food Security, Nutrition, And Employment Opportunities will support the regional food economy, promoting local food, food access and nutrition, and providing long-term solutions to food security.CKP's programs directly address both immediate hunger relief and systemic food system challenges. By linking local farmers, food entrepreneurs, jobseekers, and employers, CKP supports a regional food economy that prioritizes nutrition, workforce development, and integrated solutions for food access. A strong regional food system is critical for a healthy overall economy. Here in Allegheny County, the food economy contributes $12.9 billion to the County GDP, and employs 8% of the county's workforce. Ninety-five percent of the farms in the county are family owned with 27,000 acres devoted to food production.At the same time, 13% of the county's residents are food insecure, and 1 in 3 children are eligible for SNAP. The county has seen a 25% increase in food insecurity (and a 33% increase among children). That said, nearly half of the residents experiencing food access and food insufficiency issues are not eligible for SNAP, making community food access programs like Community Kitchen Pittsburgh so critical for food access, as its programs reach both SNAP-eligible residents and distribute through other channels to ensure broad access.A comprehensive response to local food, food access, farm, and nutrition issues requires linking small farms with outlets for their products; it requires linking job seekers with a sector in need of reliable, trained employees; it requires reimagining institutional food in a way that prioritizes local sourcing and freshly prepared food; and it requires solutions that seek to leverage existing resources to help address food access and food insufficiency. Community Kitchen Pittsburgh provides 2,000 meals a day through its community meals program to ensure food access across the city's many neighborhoods. With the planned new facility, the agency will be able to increase this food access program. Community Kitchen Pittsburgh also operates other food service businesses for which it sources from local farms and producers, and prepares fresh meals, scratch prepared foods, and housemade retail butchery products in its facility. These products and services are sold direct to consumer and through other retailers and businesses, increasing the outlets for the small producers the agency sources from.Community Kitchen Pittsburgh also provides short-term job training and job placement that addresses the immediate needs of a population that wants employment, and the needs of a sector that currently provides 80,000 regional jobs and is growing. A flourishing food and hospitality sector helps every other industry in our region recruit and retain a talented workforce and is instrumental in helping neighborhoods thrive and grow. And these jobs are *real* jobs for tens of thousands of County residents. For some, the culinary industry may be a steppingstone, for others, it's a lifelong career path.All of these activities are integrated--so the job training is embedded into the food services operations, including the community meal food access program, so that job seekers learn their culinary skills by giving back to the community, and by working on actual contracts, catering and events. These food services provide a foundation for training and transitional employment opportunities; they help support food access and food security work; they provide outlets for the produce and livestock from the region's small farms; and they cover half of the agency's operating budget, making the agency less reliant on charitable support, while increasing community impact.We strive for our food service enterprises, food access programs, and training programs to connect and support the regional food economy; to be an asset for the entire community; and to create lifelong opportunities for people who need employment.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Community Kitchen Pittsburgh: Strengthening Food Security, Nutrition, And Employment Opportunities will support the regional food economy, promoting local food, food access and nutrition, and providing long-term solutions to food security through the following program activities: Food access with an emphasis on local producers through a healthy foods grocery store and SNAP retailer; and a community meals program that prepares and delivers freshly made, nutrient-dense meals to area shelters, afterschool and summer food programs targeting income eligible children, community partners with congregate food programs, and home delivered meal programs, including diabetic friendly and low sodium meals. This community meals program integrates food recovery efforts to reduce waste.Food security through employment and economic stability by providing culinary, bakery, and butchery job training and transitional employment; registered apprenticeships; job placement and job retention support; shared kitchen space, and entrepreneurial workshops on launching a food business. Job training and transitional employment are integrated into food businesses, adding to the economic vitality of the community.Nutrition through nutrition education and healthy cooking classes, as well through the healthy market with whole produce and locally sourced meats, as well as prepared, ready-to-cook vegetables and entrees with recipe cards; and a heavy emphasis on fresh produce and healthy preparation in our community meals distribution program and retail enterprises.Measurable Goals for this ProjectTo achieve the objectives of this grant and maximize impact, CKP will strategically expand staffing in Year 1 by hiring a Community Outreach Coordinator, Employer Partnership Specialist, Development Director, and Enterprise Sales Director. Each position is directly tied to the success of the following goals:Complete new facility funding and launch new food enterprises.The Development Director will secure the remaining funds for CKP's new facility, which will house a healthy foods market, and a USDA-inspected butchery.With support from the Outreach Coordinator and Sales Director, CKP will promote the market, aiming to reach 1,000 customers monthly within two years, and feature local food entrepreneurs to strengthen neighborhood retail activity.Expand fresh/scratch production and food services.CKP will maintain at least 60% fresh/scratch meal production in Year 1, increasing by 10% once the new facility opens.The Sales Director will market current and planned enterprises to new outlets and through new partnerships, while the Employer Partnership Specialist will connect CKP's locally sourced products to regional employers who also hire program graduates.Grow local farm partnerships.CKP will expand its farm supplier base from 3 to 10, integrating local products across its catering, retail, butchery, and events.The Sales Director will lead promotion of local sourcing and strengthen enterprise partnerships. The Employer Partnership Specialist will identify opportunities to connect employers who hire CKP graduates to enterprise expansion efforts, ensuring that earned revenues continue to support food system programming.Expand community nutrition and food access.CKP will continue producing 2,000 daily meals and grow service by 10% in years two and three.The Outreach Coordinator will facilitate monthly classes, tastings, and workshops on healthy eating and cooking, reaching 2,000 participants annually.Support entrepreneurship and small business development.CKP will host two food entrepreneurship workshops in Year 1, then quarterly in subsequent years. These sessions, led by the Employer Partnership Specialist, will provide training and resources for individuals launching new food businesses.Advance workforce development.CKP will enroll 100 adults annually in its culinary training programs, maintaining a 90% job placement rate.The Outreach Coordinator will support recruitment, and the Employer Partnership Specialist will maintain strong employer relationships, connecting graduates to career-pathway employment, and supporting growth in the regional food sector by providing access to a professional workforce.Reduce waste.CKP will continue diverting at least 24,000 pounds of donated and end-of-shelf-life food annually into community meals, reducing waste and maximizing use of available resources.
Project Methods
Community Kitchen Pittsburgh has integrated a model designed to support its mission and provide on the job training experience to people seeking employment, with butchery, catering, contract meals, a food truck, retail/prepared foods, and community/hunger relief meals--through which the agency trains students, provides transitional employment opportunities, supports regional farms and producers, distributes fresh, healthy meals to address food access and food insuffiency, and covers more than half of its operating budget. Job training and community meals are both core mission activities for the agency since joblessness and food insuffiency are entwined issues. All of the agency's food services are integrated and interwoven into its training programs.Community Kitchen currently has three training programs. The programs are as follows:Rapid Reemployment 3-month Culinary Training3-6 month Transitional Employment programPA Department of Labor& Industry 1-year Registered Apprenticeship programThese training programs are integrated into daily production, with culinary trainees learning job skills in a working kitchen, and learning the culinary trade while giving back to the community through the community meals and food access programming. Trainees are also assisted with job search, placement and job retention, and staff assist with addressing barriers that will impede employment.Community Kitchen Pittsburgh seeks food service contracts and retail sales with area businesses, agencies, and consumers. The agency works to connect its employer partners to its food services and to connect its food service customers to becoming an employer of its graduates. The agency seeks to source produce and proteins from regional producers and farmers to the extent possible, and then makes freshly prepared foods, including retail beef, lamb and pork products (from bacon to sausage to retail cuts) from its butchery; grab and go sandwiches, soups and salads for retail consumption; prepared hot meals for its contracts and catering services, and for its community meals/food access programs. Recipients of these community meals receive daily freshly prepared and nutrient dense meals. By growing its enterprises, Community Kitchen can increase the amount of regionally sourced produce and proteins it uses, and can promote these local producers to its customers--both retail consumers and area businesses and wholesalers. In turn, these enterprises help support the community meals programs.Community Kitchen Pittsburgh also provides community events and workshops, again, often in partnership with its food service customers. It provides healthy cooking and nutrition classes through afterschool programs; senior centers; at partner agencies; and in its own facilities. It also provide workshops on launching a food-based business, targeting people who have never owned a business before. The new facility will provide more space for such events and workshops. The agency also plans to launch a fresh/healthy foods market in year 2, and will seek approval to accept SNAP payments at the market. As with all its enterprises, the agency plans to integrate training and transitional employment opportunities into the market.Community Kitchen Pittsburgh views a strong regional food system as critical to the overall economic health of the region. Through its enterprises, employment programs, community meals, and community programming, it seeks to connect the various parts of the food system, from growers, to job seekers, employers, and to the consumer, while making sure that all community members can access healthy, freshly prepared foods.The need for employment goes hand-in-hand with the need for commercial economic development in transitioning areas of the city, and Community Kitchen Pittsburgh situates its operations in neighborhoods well-positioned for such investment, and seeks to connect its enterprises and activities to its community food programs, to ensure that it is addressing food insecurity, and providing access to healthy food throughout the entire community. The agency prepares and distributes 2000 meals daily throughout the Greater Pittsburgh region to food-insecure individuals and to people who have limited access to healthy food, and plans to increase this work in the new facility.Community Kitchen's training facility will be relocating to the Uptown neighborhood of the Hill District as part of comprehensive redevelopment efforts in that neighborhood. With continued enterprise growth, Community Kitchen can expand its café, catering, and butchery business lines, which will also make a significant economic impact in the local community. The agency has prepared over 5 million community/hunger relief meals, and that continues to grow alongside its retail enterprises. This increase in growth will allow us to train more people and create more transitional employment opportunities for people needing support to get back into the workforce--and the more that we can promote and grow the food businesses, the more the agency can promote and support its local producers, and support its community meals and food access programming.We evaluate our effectiveness by measuring the following:Data Collected: Food Access/ Healthy Food: # of meals served; # of channels; # of people, # of customers utilizing healthy market; menus/recipesCommunity Engagement: # of events/activities, # of attendees, survey responsesFood Entrepreneurship: # of workshops offered, # of people who attend, # of businesses launched by attendees, # of new businesses who utilize kitchen spaceWaste Reduction: # of pounds of food donated/rescuedJob Training: # enrollees; demographics and barriers faced; # referrals and type of supportive services provided; # completers; # receiving industry recognized certifications and type of certifications; # of job placements; placement wage and wage at 6- and 12-months retention; Retention for 12 months post-placement; job advancement; ROI (defined as placement wage delta divided by cost of training)