KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When diners take part in Kansas City Restaurant Week, they are helping fund a program called Cornerstones of Care.
More specifically, portions of the profit participating restaurants make during the event are put toward the culinary portion of the Build Trybe Seed to Plate program, which teaches young people how to cook.
"When you leave this class, you know how to cut vegetables, you know how to cook vegetables," said Haley Lucitt, Seed to Plate manager.
While the kitchen where the teens are taught is small, the skills they learn extend well beyond cups and gallons.
"I won't have other people cooking for me,” said Cornerstones of Care student Elijah Hystem.
Hystem, 16, is a junior in high school. Since taking the class, he says he feels confident in his abilities enough to go to the store and pick up "something quick and easy to make."
Finding confidence is what Lucitt says she hopes all students get out of the program.
"The goal is just to learn new skills,” Lucitt said. “Even if you don't end up liking what we eat, at least you learned how to make it ... [and] even if you don't know exactly what you're doing, you've learned the building blocks to get there."
In warmer parts of the year, students also learn how to grow their own ingredients.
"They prepare that food, and it becomes part of the meal plan for our youth who reside at the campus," said Cornerstones of Care President and CEO Merideth Rose.
Cornerstones of Care specializes in helping children and families who have experienced some sort of trauma through multiple programs, not just culinary classes.
The Visit KC Foundation and the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association Educational Foundation also benefit from 2023 KC Restaurant Week proceeds.
