2019 YEAR IN REVIEW
Thanks to our generous supporters and volunteers, we served 49,286 scratch-made meals to hungry kids in 2019. The work we do goes way beyond the plate: by pulling up a chair and joining kids at the dinner table, our staff and volunteers model positive mealtime behavior and create meaningful interactions that brighten kids' days and fuel their curiosity.
In 2019, we facilitated more than 2,700 student hours of hands-on education and culinary lessons for the students we serve. The kitchen is a laboratory for exploring STEM topics such as measuring, chemistry, and properties of matter. By creating a relationship between food and learning, cooking can be a fun and deliberate way to leverage a child’s natural curiosity.
SPRING 2019
In the Spring, we launched the construction on a dedicated headquarters: a space to create thousands of scratch-made meals each week for the kids we serve and to train our amazing volunteers. Our production kitchen can easily convert into a teaching kitchen for youth to learn transferable skills and healthy habits that will last a lifetime.
SUMMER 2019
We believe in the power of experience to provide new skills and opportunities that break the cycle of poverty and hunger. This summer, we hosted hundreds of kids for hands-on field trips to the Public Greens micro-farm in Broad Ripple to see first-hand how food is grown and to make and eat nutritious snacks with fresh ingredients.
Our 6th Annual Speakers Forum presented by Taft focused on shifting the narrative about gun violence from the lens of the criminal justice system to treating violence as a public health crisis. Our featured speaker, Marcus McAllister of Cure Violence Global, shared his personal experience as a formerly incarcerated individual, his work as a violence interrupter, and how it is imperative to include those with criminal backgrounds in the conversation on solutions to violence.
FALL 2019
On November 25, we opened the doors to Foundation Coffee Company, a social enterprise of The Patachou Foundation next to our office and production kitchen at 4565 Marcy Lane. Proceeds from Foundation Coffee Company will fuel our mission to provide more scratch-made meals and experiences to the kids we serve.
WHAT'S IN STORE FOR 2020
We believe food has the power to change the course of a kid’s day and even the rest of their life. As you set the table for those you love this season, you’ll recognize food’s power to bring people together equitably and to create meaningful connections.
That’s why, with your support, we’ll be setting more places at the table in 2020 and refocusing our lens on the opportunities that food can provide. This summer The Patachou Foundation will launch the Food Fellowship, a paid 6-week summer intensive work development program for high schoolers centered around the food system. Students will learn transferable skills in farming, cooking, hospitality and customer service, as well as soft-skills and communication techniques.
Together, we can make sure our neighbors don’t go to bed hungry today, and we can provide real economic opportunity through food to keep them from hunger and poverty for the rest of their lives. Thank you for your continued support and we can't wait to see what 2020 brings!