Central Kitchen Food Project
Preparing from-scratch, nutrient-dense meals with locally grown foods for childcare centers, senior programs, recovery homes, hospitals and other partners in West Virginia communities.
In 2019, Healthy Kids Inc. began working with KEYS 4 HealthyKids and the Benedum Foundation to launch a Central Kitchen Food Project to prepare from-scratch, nutrient dense meals, using locally grown foods for childcare centers in West Virginia. The project was born from the desires of West Virginia Childcare centers to relieve the burden and overwhelm they faced in providing healthier meals to the children.
The Central Kitchen project was created with input and collaboration from a statewide steering committee consisting of childcare center directors, statewide non profit leaders, local funders, and the West Virginia Department of Education/Office of Child Nutrition.
In 2021, Healthy Kids Inc. began Implementing WV’s first Central Kitchen Food Project preparing from-scratch, nutrient dense, locally sourced meals for children and communities out of a newly constructed commercial (incubator) kitchen in Morgantown, WV, created by the Monongalia County Commission.
The team prepares all food from scratch and believes in working with local partners to create a more regionalized food system. We have successfully managed to eliminate nearly all canned goods from our production as all items are made from-scratch (including pasta sauces and pastes).The wheat used in grain recipes is grown and locally harvested in Preston County, West Virginia, and even milled into flour by our chefs. A number of greenhouses and local partners are intentionally growing produce that align with our seasonal menu. And partnerships with local beef and egg producers are expanding across the state.
We share in a love of food and that translates into every meal that we make. Just as soon as our meals are delivered, we too embark on our sacred “family meal time” where we enjoy the meal of the day, continually look for ways to improve it, and share our hopes and dreams for the new food system we get a little closer to realizing each day.
While the project started as an effort to improve food and health in childcare centers, it quickly became evident that this strategy was needed in other institutional food and community settings. Today, the Central Kitchen prepares foods for childcare centers, Head Starts, youth camps, local recovery/detox facilities, and other community partners. In 2023, Healthy Kids Inc. will begin to expand to add other Central Kitchen locations throughout West Virginia.
If you want to learn more about the Central Kitchen Food Project, please contact Mandy Curry at [email protected].
Meet our Team
In Parnership with:
