Gina Keatley is the Executive Chef and Director at the Nourishing NYC, a community food program in East Harlem. You may not think the Nourishing NYC is a soup kitchen when you walk by because it looks like a charming café. Gina designed the kitchen this way so that it would be welcoming and comfortable for anyone who enjoys a meal there. Read more about what the Nourishing Kitchen has to offer below!
Q: What is Nourishing NYC?
A: We are a community food program based in East Harlem with a weekly soup kitchen. East Harlem is the area of New York City most affected by diabetes and obesity. There are very poor offerings for healthy food here, so we provide healthy options to residents. Our slogan is: "Nutrition for All," which includes meals, as well as, education.
We mostly serve low-income East Harlem residents, but anybody who needs a meal is welcome. Our programs are available for everyone in need of food or cooking classes, such as adults, children, families, mothers, senior citizens, and women in recovery from drugs and alcohol.
Q: What kinds of things does Nourishing NYC do for the community?
A: We offer free hot meals to those in need-people who have a limited income, are homeless, really, anyone who is hungry. We serve the meals on Wednesdays 11:00AM to 2:00PM. We also deliver meals to seniors living in East Harlem public housing. Finally, we teach cooking classes to people of all ages so they can learn how to cook healthy meals at home. Those are for free and are on every other Monday at 5:00PM.
Our kitchen looks more like a café than a traditional soup kitchen so that people feel more comfortable here. We are open to everyone and do not ask questions, so we want clients to feel welcome. Since we only been opened in November 2008 and the café doesn't look like a soup kitchen, we have to tell people who we are. We'll see people who are not sure what or where we are and walk by four or five times before they come in. We have to say to them, "This is the Nourishing Kitchen. You can come in. This is where the soup kitchen is." Also as some people can't read or don't read English, we encourage people to come to the meals by telling them in person. We want to serve healthy and tasty food to anyone who walks through our doors.
Visit our website for a current meal schedule.
Editor December 11, 2009 - 12:50pm
Keep an eye out for the rest of Gina's Harlem Word series to be posted in the coming weeks!