The Central Kitchen Food Project is transforming local food systems throughout the state.
WV LIVING HEALTHY SPONSORED BY PRACTICELINK
written by SASHA DOBEK
CHILDCARE CENTERS TYPICALLY DON’T HAVE COOKS PROVIDING NUTRITIOUS MEALS. The Central Kitchen Food Project combats this with chef-led, from-scratch, healthy meals for childcare centers and more in West Virginia, with help from Keys 4 HealthyKids and a grant from the Benedum Foundation.
The program began four years ago with pediatric physician Dr. Jamie Jeffrey. It opened its first kitchen in Monongalia County in 2022, using the concept of food to heal the body. Up from its original 80 hot meals a day, the team now delivers more than 1,500, with a second location in Huntington serving Cabell County with the help of the Pallottine Foundation and Project Healthy Kids.
Volunteers, interns, dietitians, and drivers plan, prepare, and transport healthy meals to day cares, youth camps, senior programs, recovery homes, and hospitals throughout the area. Meal prep focused on local foods supports a more localized food system, in partnership with the West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition. “Part of this is to create the model that doesn’t rely on food from other places,” says Central Kitchen Food Project co-founder and owner Mandy Curry. “We create that model for school systems.”
Meals are created in bulk for each care site according to USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program standards. The project maximizes local food use with a preservation kitchen. “We actually got 500 cases of local apples,” Curry explains. “We spent a couple weeks processing them into applesauce, and we can now use that throughout the rest of the year.”
Programs like this are vital to the health of West Virginia’s children. “The earlier we can provide the healthiest food to them, the better,” Curry says. “We know they are getting a much better start as they progress in life.”
Plans for a Taylor County kitchen and a manufacturing program are underway. “The first product will be a frozen meal line from scratch, using local produce,” Curry says. “Turning that into a frozen meal will allow us to serve other parts of the state, like food deserts.” As the project expands, so does the team behind it. “More people want to be a part of it,” Curry says, “because you can see the benefit and taste the benefit.”
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