Liberty’s Kitchen to host grand opening of Taylor Center for Young Leadership

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New Orleans, LA – Today, Liberty’s Kitchen announced its plans to host a grand opening of its Taylor Center for Young Leadership on November 15th at 2:00 pm. The Taylor Center is a renovation and expansion of Liberty’s Kitchen’s headquarters at 300 N. Broad Street, where the organization has resided as a member of the ReFresh Project since 2014.

The 6,000 square foot Center includes a public event space with seating for 80 as well as additional classroom, counseling, technology, recreation, and administrative space. This expansion comes at an exciting time for Liberty’s Kitchen, which recently received a $1.2 million commitment from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and opened an addition retail cafeteria in the Freeport-McMoRan building in the Central Business District.

The event will include remarks from leadership donor Mrs. Phyllis M. Taylor, Chairman and President of the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation, which committed $250,000 in support of this expansion. Liberty’s Kitchen Board Chair Matt Schwartz will also offer remarks. In addition to an assortment of refreshments provided by the organization’s catering service, there will be a youth-led ribbon cutting to inaugurate this celebratory moment in the organization’s history and highlight the organization’s increasing commitment to youth-centric and youth-led programming.

“The Foundation is pleased to have played a part in making this worthwhile project a reality. The educational experiences that will happen at this Center will be another step toward providing opportunities that are needed in our community,” commented Mrs. Phyllis M. Taylor, Chairman and President of the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation.

David Emond, Liberty’s Kitchen’s Executive Director, commented: “This new and improved physical space embodies our deep commitment to growing and developing young leaders. The Taylor Center will provide opportunities for us to help our young people expand their networks, build technological skills, focus on career advancement, and gather safely to support oneanother’s growth. We are so grateful to the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation and all who have made this project a reality for our mission.”

The Taylor Center for Young Leadership was made possible thanks to the generous support of:
the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation, the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable
Trust, the Ella West Freeman Foundation, the Domain Companies, Woodward Design+Build,
Frischhertz Electric Company, AOS Interior Environments, Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, and over
150 individual donors.

Since 2009, Liberty’s Kitchen has served more than 650 youth, investing in their potential to
achieve their vision of success. The organization has more than 40 active employment partners
throughout New Orleans, all of whom are committed to providing opportunity and training
through externships and employment. In addition, Liberty’s Kitchen is a local leader in providing
high quality, great-tasting, and nutritious food to children attending local public charter schools.
Since 2010, the organization has prepared and served well over 2 million meals, raising the
standard of nutrition and helping New Orleans school children excel in the classroom and
beyond. Liberty’s Kitchen operates a retail café at 300 N. Broad Street and a retail cafeteria at
1615 Poydras St. The organization provides a wide range of catering services from office
lunches to wedding receptions.