Emeril Lagasse Foundation Beneficiary Luncheon at NOCCA. Photo provided by the Emeril Lagasse Foundation.
NEW ORLEANS – The Emeril Lagasse Foundation has invested nearly $13 million in New Orleans-area schools and nonprofit organizations over the past 20 years through programs focused on youth education, workforce development, nutrition and mentorship, supporting more than 25,000 young people locally in 2025 alone. “Our greatest impact is helping more young people access opportunities
NEW ORLEANS – The Emeril Lagasse Foundation has invested nearly $13 million in New Orleans-area schools and nonprofit organizations over the past 20 years through programs focused on youth education, workforce development, nutrition and mentorship, supporting more than 25,000 young people locally in 2025 alone.
“Our greatest impact is helping more young people access opportunities that can change the shape and course of their lives,” said Brian Kish, president of the Emeril Lagasse Foundation.
Kish said many of the young people who benefited from the Foundation in the past are now contributing to its work.
“We often talk about the dollar amounts, but it’s really about the lives we’re impacting and changing,” said Kish. “To see some of the stories of these young people, how they’ve succeeded and grown, it’s been a beautiful thing to be a part of.”
Emeril Lagasse Foundation Reaches 25,000 Local Youth. Photo by Cedric Angeles.
Kish said one shining example is a young person who started with the Edible Schoolyard program, received a full scholarship to attend Johnson & Wales University, helped develop culinary programming at NOCCA, and now works for the Emeril’s Restaurant Group and helps mentor youth.
Foundation Partners and Beneficiaries
The Foundation partners with organizations such as Second Harvest and Covenant House, which Kish said help give young people the stability, nutrition and support needed to succeed in school and take advantage of future opportunities.
“If they don’t have these basic, core things, they can’t grow,” said Kish. “Our goal is always to help young people become their best selves and that’s what these two wonderful organizations do.”
Kish said the Foundation often works with the same organizations year after year, which allows the Foundation to have a greater impact.
Covenant House New Orleans
Covenant House New Orleans, which provides housing, meals and support services for youth ages 16 to 22 experiencing homelessness and related hardships, received a $50,000 grant from the Emeril Lagasse Foundation to support its Nutrition Stabilization Program.
The program provides three meals daily to residents and youth receiving services through the organization. Covenant House said the funding will help support the preparation of approximately 330 meals per day, totaling more than 120,000 meals annually, through the Alden and Emeril Lagasse Kitchen and Dining Hall.
With the latest grant, the Emeril Lagasse Foundation has invested nearly $1,296,000 in Covenant House New Orleans.
Second Harvest Food Bank
The Foundation also awarded a $50,000 grant to Second Harvest Food Bank to support its Summer Feeding Program, which aims to provide 175,000 meals and snacks to 5,000 children across South Louisiana over a 10-week period while schools are closed for the summer.
Emeril Lagasse Foundation Reaches 25,000 Local Youth. Photo provided by the Emeril Lagasse Foundation.
According to Second Harvest, one in four children in South Louisiana experiences food insecurity, including many whose families do not qualify for public assistance programs. The grant will help offset rising operational costs associated with the summer initiative.
With the latest funding, the Emeril Lagasse Foundation has invested approximately $760,000 in Second Harvest Food Bank.
Broader Emeril Lagasse Foundation Reach
The Foundation supports youth and culinary education programs in 16 states, primarily in coastal regions and cities connected to Emeril Lagasse’s restaurant and hospitality operations.
“We’re anywhere from Washington, D.C. to Chicago to Florida as well as California, Las Vegas, and we just got involved with a program in Long Island where we can implement our signature programs,” said Kish.
The Foundation also operates the Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund, which supports Latino students pursuing culinary and hospitality careers through mentorship opportunities and full scholarships to the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute (NOCHI).
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