Two community kitchens currently under construction by local nonprofits will benefit from $400,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds secured by the city.
The funding for the La Colaborativa and GreenRoots community kitchens is part of the city’s focus on food security initiatives it has undertaken with those organizations and Healthy Chelsea, according to Chelsea Director of Housing and Community Development Alex Train.
“The funding is going to be utilized for programmatic purposes,” said Train. “At GreenRoots, it will defray the costs of nutritional education as well as culinary instruction. At La Colaborativa, the funds are going to support workforce training programs for residents in the culinary industry.”
Train said the city pictures the funding as part of a broader food security strategy it is undertaking.
“The goal is that residents who are pursuing job opportunities or starting businesses will gain the necessary skills through these programs and eventually be able to start a business in Chelsea,” said Train.
Some of those culinary opportunities could include residents using the new culinary incubator space that is planned as part of the redevelopment of the Salvation Army building on Broadway.
The nutrition education portion of the funding is also extremely important, Train said.
“Some of the major public health issues we are grappling with right now are issues like high blood pressure and households suffering from cardiovascular disease,” said Train. “So we see this as a preventative step to improve public health by providing nutrition assistance and culinary training to residents.”