NC Vermont News

Community Kitchen Academy (CKA), a partnership between Capstone Community Action and the Vermont Foodbank, is best known as a powerful workforce development and training program for the food service industry. But did you know that CKA is also a leader in food security and waste reduction in Central Vermont?

Read on to learn about a day in training for a CKA student and how rescued food goes from the kitchen to delicious, healthy meals stocked in our Food Shelf. 

Day in the Life: Community Kitchen Academy Students

A typical day in the kitchen starts with a lesson from Chef Instructor Joey Buttendorf. These lessons cover a variety of topics, including cutting techniques, the five mother sauces (the basis of all sauces and gravies), and cooking methods like roasting. 

After the lesson wraps up, students work with Chef Joey and Teaching Assistant Paul Falco to prepare meals using food ordered from the Vermont Foodbank, donated by community members, or gleaned locally. These meals are packed, labeled, sealed, frozen and later distributed through Capstone’s Food Shelf. They prepare up to 200 of these meals weekly for Food Shelf customers. 

Then Chef Joey and Paul demo a cooking skill, like breaking down a whole chicken or using ham bones to make broth, to wrap up class. A cornerstone of the program is the importance of preventing food waste. These meals utilize every possible element of foods that are close to being pulled off the shelves.

The meals prepared by CKA play a vital role in feeding our neighbors who lack the resources to cook food on their own, such as unhoused or senior individuals. Your gift to Capstone’s Fuel Your Neighbors campaign is an investment in these CKA meals and accessible, nutritious food for all Central Vermonters. 

This initiative for Capstone’s emergency food and heating assistance programs ends on Wednesday, March 8. We are so close to reaching our goal of raising $300,000! 

Our generous community partner, National Life Group, will double your impact with a $1 for $1 match up to $5,000. Please consider supporting Fuel Your Neighbors with a donation towards food security today at https://support.capstonevt.org/.../fuel-your.../c434656. 

Original source can be found here.