NEW ORLEANS – Chef Emeril Lagasse and the Board of Directors of the Emeril Lagasse Foundation announced the distribution of more than $150,000 to Gulf Coast non-profits, including four New Orleans-based organizations. The grants will support projects and initiatives aligned with the Foundation’s mission of creating opportunities to inspire, mentor and enable youth to reach their fullest potential through culinary, nutrition and arts education.
“My wife Alden and I are thrilled to see the Foundation’s spring grants go toward such inspiring organizations that are committed to changing children’s lives,” said Chef Emeril Lagasse. “We’re thankful for the support of our dedicated board, donors and community partners, all of whom play a key role in helping us increase the Foundation’s impact year after year.”
The grantees include:
• Second Harvest Food Bank – To continue supporting its Summer Feeding, Kids Café and School Pantry programs. Since 2010 the Foundation has invested over 895,000 fresh healthy meals to campers across the city to address the lack of food available to New Orleans and Acadiana schoolchildren in the summers.
• Liberty’s Kitchen – To support its Youth Leadership Center and further expand its programs that provide youth a path to self-sufficiency through life skills and workforce training.
• Louisiana Restaurant Association’s Education Fund – To benefit the School Support Fund that aids its 60 ProStart programs. Currently serving over 1,500 youth in Louisiana, ProStart is the leading culinary and hospitality certification program for high school students that utilizes an industry-based curriculum.
• Ingram Lee Foundation – Established to aid and improve the lives of motivated economically disadvantaged individuals by providing assistance to facilitate their progress.
• Broad Community Connections – To support its ReFresh Kids’ Camp, a free, weeklong summer camp for children with programs that include gardening activities, nutrition education and cooking that incorporates garden harvest. Funding will support programs that will reach 100 children in 2016.
• Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center – To provide funding for a new kitchen at its recently expanded second location in Walton County, Florida. Officially opened in April 2016, the facility includes healthy eating lifestyles in their approach to providing services to child abuse victims and their families and will serve 350 children per year.
“The growth of the Foundation’s impact and footprint along the Gulf Coast is a testament to the work we started, and continue to build on here in New Orleans,” said Brian Kish, president of the Foundation. “We’re excited to see these projects come to fruition.”
Reps with the Emeril Lagasse Foundation said they are proud to continue supporting organizations that are dedicated to helping youth reach their fullest potential.
Founded in 2002 by Chef Emeril Lagasse and his wife Alden, Emeril Lagasse Foundation is a 501c(3) public charity headquartered in New Orleans. The Foundation’s mission is to create opportunities to inspire, mentor and enable youth to reach their full potential through culinary, nutrition and arts education. Since its inception, Emeril Lagasse Foundation has granted more than $7 million to children’s charities to support culinary, nutrition and arts programs.
Chef Emeril and NOCCA Students
Liberty's Kitchen Students
