April 12, 2005
MEDIA ADVISORY: State Lawmakers Cook-Up Hunger, Nutrition Policy Innovations
WASHINGTON, D.C. - State lawmakers from around the country will don hair nets and aprons at a hands-on lesson in food preparation at the DC Central Kitchen on Thursday morning.
Legislators, in town for the National Conference of State Legislatures' Spring Forum meeting, will roll up their sleeves and help DC Central Kitchen's job training clients prepare meals for the city's children, elderly and homeless. The lesson will help legislators better understand innovative approaches to leveraging public and private resources in order to meet the nutrional and job training needs of the homeless and low income communities.
NCSL's Human Services and Welfare Committee is sponsoring the site visit. State legislators from Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and South Dakota are expected to volunteer. Additionally, the U.S. state legislators will be joined by several of their Brazilian counterparts who are touring the United States with a leadership exchange program.
The morning agenda will also include a briefing on federal hunger and nutrition issues from U.S. Senator Gordon Smith (OR), co-chair of the U.S. Senate Hunger Caucus.
| WHO: |
The National Conference of State Legislatures
Human Services and Welfare Committee
Agriculture and Rural Development Committee
Labor and Workforce Development Committee
NCSL Hunger and Nutrition Partnership |
| WHAT: |
Hands-On Food Preparation and Briefing |
| WHEN: |
Thursday, April 14, 2005 |
|
8:45 - 9:30 a.m. |
Welcome by Robert Egger, DC Central Kitchen Executive Director |
|
9:30 - 9:45 a.m. |
Volunteer Activity Preparation |
| |
9:45 - 10 a.m. |
Briefing from Senator Gordon Smith (OR) |
| |
10 - 10:45 a.m. |
Food Preparation with Job Training Program Clients |
| WHERE: |
DC Central Kitchen
425 Second Street, NW
Washington, D.C. |
| BACKGROUND: |
DC Central Kitchen (DCCK), Inc. is a non-profit, community corporation founded on the premise that waste is wrong, be it food, money, or the potential for people to live productive lives. In 15 years, DC Central Kitchen has grown to become a national model for more than 60 community kitchens operating throughout the United States, and has itself become a national program operating in 6 states and the DC metropolitan area.
DCCK offers a culinary job training program (among other programs) for unemployed men and women who are either homeless or receiving public assistance. This program teaches a marketable skill, instills confidence, raises self-determination, and reveals hidden talents that ultimately lead to obtaining and retaining jobs at live-able wages. Since 1990, there have been more than 450 graduates from the Culinary Job Training program. |
NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the states, commonwealths and territories. It provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues and is an effective and respected advocate for the interests of the states in the American federal system.
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