Midrash Psalms 118:17 When you are asked in the world to come, “What was your work?” and you answer, “I fed the hungry,” you will be told, “This is the gate of Adonai, enter into it, you who have fed the hungry.”
By Eva Trieger
SOLANA BEACH, California — While the above is certainly a kindness and a blessing, Judaism teaches that there are several levels of giving. The most elevated expression of giving is to provide someone the means to support himself. While this reasoning may be compelling, it is not the only impetus that got Aviva Paley and co-founder, chef and restaurateur, Chuck Samuelson to create Kitchens for Good.
In a recent phone interview, I spoke with Paley about my earlier visit to Kitchens for Good in Southeast San Diego, where I learned of this revolutionary model. Having seen it in action, I was ravenous for details about how the re-purposing of food had changed and continues to change lives.
The event I had attended was an extension of my having a donor advised fund through the San Diego Jewish Community Foundation. The Foundation is always on the lookout for ways to educate, engage and inspire Jewish philanthropy to San Diego’s worthwhile institutions. The presentation illustrated the dire need for food in San Diego, and the availability of excess food that was being discarded at farmers’ markets and grocery stores. This food could be gathered up and turned into nutritious meals for so much of San Diego’s food challenged population. According to the San Diego Hunger Coalition, 177,00 children and 273,000 adults are food insecure. This means they do not know where their next meal is coming from. To combat this it would take keen organization, a cadre of chefs and a centrally located, well-equipped kitchen.
Five years ago, Aviva Paley was working for the Leichtag Foundation where she was critically involved in the Food Justice program. This had been a long-time passion, and while this articulate young woman appreciated the role of faith-based communities and generous donors, her long term goal was to empower individuals. Paley began to look around the country for successful models that addressed the issues of food waste and hunger. Little did she know that she was about to tap into something far greater and with a much more significant impact than merely opening another soup kitchen.
Enter Kitchens for Good. What this forward-thinking duo saw that made them unique was this: not only did San Diego’s youth and seniors have a need, but there was a host of unemployed, and largely forgotten society members who could provide a resolution if given the proper tools and opportunity. A social enterprise kitchen provided not only food for the nearly half-million undernourished San Diegans, it also transformed the lives of so many who’d been derailed by hunger, drugs, incarceration, homelessness, and violence. However, where to find a kitchen?
The Jacob Center for Neighborhood Innovation was started in 2002 and its vision statement reads as follows: to be part of a caring community where people are responsible to each other, where all cultures are embraced, where sustaining resources are in place for a vibrant economy, and where residents create the future they envision. What better place to create a sustainable center for resolving issues that plague an entire community? Serendipity intervened and a catering company exited, leaving the ideal kitchen up for grabs. In September 2015, Paley and Samuelson combined their efforts and expertise to open Kitchens for Good at this site and launched their dream program within just three months. Overnight their staff grew from three to thirty six devoted members.
So here’s the eye-popping part: This organization not only provides the raw ingredients, pardon the pun, to create nutritious meals, but it also provides a second chance at a meaningful life and livelihood to so many individuals who have been cast aside by society. An intensive twelve-week training course addresses culinary skills and, equally important, life skills. The cooking classes are taught by master chefs, while Marriage and Family therapist, Katrina, instructs clients on how to prepare for interviews, interact with co-workers, bosses and all of the issues that attend holding a job: punctuality, performance, attitude, and communication skills. For many of these individuals, it is their first experience holding a job. This education in workforce readiness sets the students up for a successful career when they have graduated. Even more impressive is that once they graduate, Kitchens for Good has the connections to get these graduates employment at some of the Finest City’s finest eating establishments including Mr. A’s, top hotels and casinos.
Speaking of graduation, September 6th will honor the 17th class of fourteen graduates. These individuals have traditionally experienced an 86% employment rate and an equally high rate of sustaining these jobs. What’s even more exciting is that graduates of the program are often promoted to supervisory, managerial, sous chef or head chef positions, where they can then turn around and hire other Kitchens for Good graduates! Since its inception Kitchens for Good has turned out over 245 graduates who have risen in the industry.
The typical student who enters Kitchens for Good’a twelve-week program has already been in a social service program in some capacity. Eighty percent come with a felony convictions and approximately 60% are homeless or living in transitional housing. They are treated respectfully and held accountable for their actions. While the majority of students complete the program and exit with a whole new lease on life, there are some for whom the commitment is too much, and some of those return later, and resume the program when they are more able to commit. There is no question that the program is intensive and demanding, but that can’t compare to the rewards that await the graduates!
Kitchens for Good works with existing sites to provide and distribute their meals. They create 170,000 nutritious, scratch-made meals to over 1500 youths annually and 40,000 meals for seniors in centers or in their homes. They tap into after-school programs, YMCAs, recreational centers, and libraries, ensuring that children receive at least one well-rounded nutritious meal daily even if that is not available in their own homes.
However, Paley and Samuelson’s goal far exceeded a typical non-profit. They wanted Kitchens for Good to be self-sustaining to underscore its goal of empowerment. Aviva Paley didn’t drop the ball there. She saw the potential of a group of trained chefs and, again, thinking outside of the box, wondered about creating a catering company using these skilled chefs. The spacious modern venue at the Jacob Center is available, but these talented chefs can also come to your home, synagogu,e or preferred space for your own simcha or event. Today, these highly qualified individuals are prepared to cater to groups ranging in size from intimate dinner parties to a gathering of 500 individuals. They provide all of the food, service, and cleaning up. Kitchens for Good Catering may be reached at 619.450.4040 or online at events@kitchensforgood.org.
An annual fundraiser is on the visible horizon: October 20th, 2019. This promises to be a hugely rewarding evening for all. WASTED: A Celebration of Sustainable Food will provide the opportunity for diners/donors to enjoy the ingenuity of 40 celebrity chefs as they prepare cocktails, dishes and desserts. Each dish will creatively seek to reduce food waste and create an iconic dish. Ever wonder what happens to carrot tops? How about coffee grounds? Come and find out. The cost of tickets goes directly to the organization and will enable this fabulous group to continue its humanitarian and Herculean efforts to provide both nutrition and livelihood to San Diego. A silent auction will be held to benefit Kitchens for Good. Seats are limited and only 400 tickets will be sold, so purchase yours today wastedcelebration.com.
Returning to the Midrash, giving to one who is hungry is important, but teaching a person to become self-sufficient is a much greater mitzvah. Taking a hopeless, under-educated human to a new level, that is fulfilling a mitzvah, and that is what Aviva Paley is all about.
To learn more about Kitchens for Good, please contact info@kitchensforgood.org or call 619.450.4040
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Trieger is a freelance writer based in Solana Beach, California.