The nonprofit, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County, has opened a remodeled kitchen at one of its locations. Boys & Girls Club says the $2 million project, called Blue Door Kitchen, will help it provide nutritious meals at all locations in Tarrant County and also help kids interested in culinary careers learn more about the industry.
Daphne Barlow Stigliano, chief executive officer of Boys & Girls Club of Greater Tarrant County, says the availability of nutritious meals at its 25 locations will help kids focus on their education to achieve long-term success.
"I don't know if you've ever been 'hangry' before, but it's a real thing," she says. "When you're hungry, it's really difficult to focus."
Barlow Stigliano says the dual-purpose facility can also give kids experience so they can learn what aspects of a culinary setting appeal to them. Blue Door Kitchen includes a course called, "Culinary Connection," where kids can work with an executive chef who will help them create seasonal menus.
"Our young people get the opportunity to learn about pastry, or they can learn about how to prepare different kinds of meat, or they can learn how to make all kinds of vegetable dishes," she says. "There's enough variety in their curriculum that gives them the opportunity to determine how they want to see their own career unfold."
"You can learn in nine months the basics of bread, steak, pasta," says student Destiny Velazquez. "It's all in one."
Velazquez says she has spent three years in the culinary program at South Hills High School She says she is also starting to learn about the business side and hopes to own her restaurant. Asked where she would want to open, she said, "Maybe Vegas."
"Learning from an executive chef was quite an experience, and I love to learn," she says.
The kitchen at Nicholas and Louella Martin Branch in Southeast Fort Worth served 175 meals on its first day Monday. Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County Chief Operating Officer Marcus Hicks says students like Velazquez are helping prepare the meals.
"What's been really interesting to see is how this is affirmation through a hands-on learning experience that allows her to discover her best self," he says.
Hicks says he hopes to serve 2,000 meals a day by Thanksgiving and could expand into Denton County.
"So much of what we're doing is to say, 'How do we meet the needs of the community?'" he says. "We know food security is a need. We know we're in neighborhoods that are underserved."
Hicks says the project fulfills Blue Door Kitchen's three pillars: ensuring kids receive a "great, hot meal," giving high school students hands-on experience in food service and hospitality, and a future focus on social enterprise.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County is using donations from the Amon G. Carter Foundation and real estate firm Jackson-Shaw. Ladies Auxiliary of Arlington is providing a truck to carry meals from Fort Worth to Arlington.
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