Food Works is all moved in to the new commercial kitchen! We give many thanks to all in the community who have helped us reach this goal.
The months of April, May, June and July have been extremely busy. We closed out our old kitchen which was rented from the First United Methodist Church Kitchen, closed out of our temporary cold and frozen storage area at the old “Tina’s” kitchen, and installed new equipment and ensconced ourselves at our new location on South Washington Street. We are continuing to serve our contracts with the Head Start Nutrition Sites and with the Project School, and for the summer we have been providing meals to school age children for the Banneker Center Summer Lunch Program. We continue to emphasize our special events catering and look forward to working on product development.
The Food Works Kitchen is a shared-use kitchen. We will be sharing the kitchen with members of the community who are starting up small food businesses through a program currently called BKI (Bloomington Kitchen Incubator), and with other members of the Community Food Grant Group which helped make the kitchen a reality. There is a walk-in cooler and sink area available for local growers through the Local Growers Guild. The Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard has already used the kitchen for “rescuing” food into food products they can give out as samples to their clients. Classes by Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard have also been scheduled, as have classes with the People’s University.
Food Works for Middle Way House prepares your food from scratch. We strive to use the freshest and highest quality ingredients. We look for fruits and vegetables that are in season and make an effort to purchase locally. All proceeds earned by Food Works go to Middle Way House a national model domestic violence program located in Bloomington, Indiana.
In addition to this very imortant point, Food Works works on a very active and engaged level to provide opportunities to women who are victims of domestic violence to become economically self-sufficient while providing real culinary skills, a safe and supportive work environment, and a valuable work history to present to future employers.
It is our firm belief that building a stronger community for everyone will build a stronger and safer community for the women it is our mission to serve. We are very thankful to the new opportunities that are waiting for both ourselves and all community members who may benefit from this endeavor.
Quilts donated by Quilters Guild to Middle Way House's new shelter
On April 30, the Quilters Guild displayed almost 50 quilts members made for Middle Way House’s new emergency shelter at the New Wings facility. The occasion was an open house which gave New Wings Community Partnership members a chance to see the building. This display was made at the kitchen prior to opening.