Liberty’s Kitchen Wins Grant Award From Tulane “Philanthropy and Social Change” Class

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New Orleans, LA – Today, Liberty’s Kitchen announced receipt of a $14,400 grant from Tulane University’s “Philanthropy and Social Change” course, sponsored by the Philanthropy Lab. Liberty’s Kitchen was selected out of five finalists in the “Food Security” sector by a team of four undergraduate students. The grant will support farm-to-school initiatives in development by Liberty’s Kitchen, which serves 3,500 meals a day in partner schools through its School Nutrition Program.

Commemorating National Farm to School Month, Liberty’s Kitchen launched their first “Liberty’s Garden” at Crocker College Prep on October 25th . The Liberty’s School Garden is one of three farm-to-school initiatives in development by Liberty’s Kitchen. Other initiatives include increasing local produce procurement, which has mutual benefit for local farmers and the school community, as well as a nutrition education component that is being piloted at Crocker College Prep. Through a weekly “Liberty’s Kitchen Lab,” staff members work with students to create healthy meals and learn about nutrition, eventually utilizing produce harvested from the Liberty’s Garden. Trainees in the organization’s cornerstone workforce training program, the Youth Development Program, assist in garden maintenance as part of their training education.

The “Philanthropy and Social Change” course is offered to students in the School of Liberal Arts Management Minor as well as in Sociology. A grant from the Philanthropy Lab enabled students in the “Philanthropy and Social Change” course to participate in the philanthropic process. The students themselves were entirely responsible for making the final funding decision.

“We considered each organization’s alignment with our mission to increase access to nutritious and affordable food in the New Orleans community through innovative and sustainable practices. The aspect of Liberty’s Kitchen that we appreciate the most is the variety of programs that are heavily-community based and evaluated effectively. We were so impressed by Liberty’s Kitchen’s extensive reach into the community to assist groups of all ages, and we are excited to see how the latest project at Crocker Elementary continues to develop,” commented Erica Taft, a sophomore at Tulane and the project lead.

Executive Director Dave Emond commented, “Tulane continues to be a leader in effective community engagement. We are thrilled to have received this grant, which will position us to double down on the commitment we have made to increasing healthy food access and awareness. We are grateful to the students in Philanthropy and Social Change’s food security cohort for their thoughtful consideration of our proposal, and for their belief in the value of our project.”

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.