WS Chronicle

Chefs, caterers and entrepreneurs from across the country met in Winston-Salem last week as two nonprofits designed to help break the cycle of hunger and poverty joined forces to host the Catalyst Kitchens, Feeding America National Summit.

Catalyst Kitchens and Feeding America are two separate job service training enterprises that provide training, resume building, and job placement in culinary jobs for people who have experienced barriers to employment whether due to long-term unemployment, homelessness, addiction recovery, criminal record or other circumstances.

During the three-day summit that ended Sept. 6 at the Double Tree on University Parkway, the home of Second Harvest Food Bank’s Providence Programs, a member of both national organizations, attendees had the opportunity to learn about best practices, North Carolina cuisine, wage progression in the food industry and other job training trips. The summit also featured several demonstrations and taste testing.

Some of the experts who lent their expertise during the summit were Kim Prendergast, Feeding America community health & nutrition consultant; Renee Martin, Catalyst Kitchens director; Jeff Bacon, Providence executive director; Sarandra Sturdivant, Providence client services assistant; Eric Aft, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC CEO; Kristen Culliney, Community Food Bank of Southern AZ director; Tim Reagan, MD Food Bank vice president of programs and network relations; Tim Grandinetti, Spring House and Quantto Basta Restaurant executive director and chief; and John Bobby, Roosters – A Noble Grille executive chief.

In a press release sent to The Chronicle last week, Chef Bacon said programs like Providence and others across the country are needed in every community to help people in need get back on their feet and overcome issues in their lives.

“There are people in every community who need a second chance and are willing and eager to overcome the issues that have created barriers to their employment,” he said. “At Providence, and programs like ours across the nation, we bring critical ingredients together in a recipe for success that makes individual lives’ better and our communities’ places that can thrive. We combine tools, training, and support that people need with opportunities to apply newly gained skills and talent in social enterprises that offer value to the communities we serve and the kinds of experience that are needed for success in a stable and growing industry.”