Community Kitchen adds space with renovation

An organization that served 211,322 meals and snacks last year has been operating out of a headquarters no bigger than a garage.

But after working in such a small space for several years, the Community Kitchen will be moving to a new location late this summer or early next fall. Renovations to this building will begin in March.

Located at 917 S. Rogers St., the Community Kitchen of Monroe County serves dinner six days a week year-round and has several other food service programs within the community.

The recently purchased building is also located on South Rogers Street. Once the building is renovated there will be approximately 1,100 more square feet for kitchen and prep space.

Executive Director Vicki Pierce said funding for the new location has been in the works for several years and has come from numerous sources.

“We were fundraising in any way possible,” Pierce said.

The kitchen also received a $200,000 federal grant called the Community Development Block Grant, which was acquired through a competitive application process.

The main benefit of this new location will be improved efficiency, Pierce said.

“We can’t keep growing the way we want to in this location,” Pierce said.

Currently the kitchen must keep most of its food supply in off-site locations because there is not enough room in the space that currently exists.

This becomes problematic, Pierce said, because the kitchen has to pay the transportation costs to bring food back to the kitchen from the off-site locations.
   
Another benefit will be the enlarged space to seat those who come for dinner, Pierce said. Throughout the past decade the number of those who frequent the kitchen has increased measurably.

“It’s a weird phenomenon,” said Adam Sommer, kitchen supervisor for nine years. “Every year there gets to be more and more people who come in.”

In the new location there will be seating for about 100 people, 50 more than the current facility can seat, as well as additional round-table seating for families.

“We’re really excited to allow people to have an intimate family meal here,” Pierce said.

The Community Kitchen has been operating out of its current location for approximately 20 years, Pierce said, though the kitchen itself opened in 1983.

The current building is somewhat crowded; it is full of activity 9 a.m. until well past dinner from 4 to 6 p.m. Meals are prepared for hundreds of children each day through programs like Backpack Buddies, which provide meals for school children to take home and eat during the weekends.

Pierce said 65 percent of the work the Community Kitchen does is targeted to children.

“When we’re feeding kids, we’re investing in their future,” Pierce said.

Volunteers also participate in the Community Kitchen experience. Some are regulars while others only work once or twice, Pierce said.

“This is my first time working,” IU senior Joseph Blanchard said. “I really wanted help out with the community.”