We Are Kitchen of Purpose
Our Mission is to use the power of food to create social and economic change in low-income communities.
We believe that unemployment, obesity, diabetes, and food waste are problems that we can start to solve in sustainable ways by designing and implementing innovative programs to help disadvantaged members of minority groups. Kitchen of Purpose is here to help.
We have gathered a group of professionals, experts in social issues and development effectiveness, as well as chefs, social workers, nutritionists, and experts in business development, all big dreamers who believe that integrating minorities in this journey will make a difference in our community.
2012
Patricia was inspired by the efforts, resources, and infrastructure that multilateral organizations in the United States invest to help solve social issues and improve the lives of those in the developing world. With this in mind, she founded Kitchen of Purpose to combat unemployment, hunger, obesity, and food waste in her local community. Her vision is to empower diversity groups and immigrants as agents of social and economic change by using food as a tool to transform lives.
2013
Patricia garnered support across sectors from chefs, social works, nutritionists, doctors, and professional experts in development. With their help, Kitchen of Purpose programs were created:
Bilingual Culinary Jobs Training Program
On December of 2013, the IRS approves Kitchen of Purpose nonprofit status and provides a 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt authorization to start raising funds to support the launch of the programs.
2014
After months of fundraising efforts, partnerships signed with Northern Virginia Community College Workforce Development and with other local nonprofits, we identified the first group of clients, and on September of 2014, Kitchen of Purpose opened its doors for the first time.
The first funders that supported Kitchen of Purpose were the Meyer Foundation, Arlington Community Foundation, and Mount Olivet of the United Methodist Church that offered in-kind use of its facilities in Arlington, Virginia.
2015
During this year, we were able to implement a one-month, paid internship at employer partners to be offered to the students that finish training.
2016
Since founding, many more organizations from different sectors have joined our efforts. To date, we have graduated 47 students with 95% completion, 70% job placements, and 78% retention rates over one year from placement.
We have also expanded our services to other immigrant communities, finalizing in December 2016 a course offered in English to women from the Middle East. This pilot program has successfully finished and job placement efforts are in place.