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Breakfast Club - Culinary Arts Program

Culinary Training & Food Assistance Program

The Breakfast Club (And Lunch Too!) Food Truck and Catering

Program Background

Changing the way our community thinks about food assistance.

In 2009, the ¡YouthWorks! Culinary Program was launched to address an array of critical youth crises including, but not limited to, food insecurity, the distribution of unhealthy food, and a shortage of job training and development opportunities in SF. To date, more than 200 local youth have been provided regular, healthy meals at an affordable cost to the more than one hundred young people on YW work crews. A small crew of young adults have run the entire program, with assistance from adult mentors, creating and planning menus, budgeting and buying ingredients, and preparing and serving the meals.

 

The Breakfast Club (and Lunch Too!)

In 2010, the Culinary Arts Program was expanded with the launch of the pilot social venture food truck, "The Breakfast Club (and Lunch, Too!)" This youth run business sold fresh breakfast and lunch at the Richards Business Park through the Summer. The Breakfast Club also began catering events, such as Wedding Parties and MIX Networking Event.

Look for the return of The Breakfast Club in early 2011 with a new location, expanded menu and catering services.

For more information: food@santafeyouthworks.org

Program Background: Food Insecurity

In recent years, growing population, drought, the use of bio fuels, and increased consumption has contributed to a growing world food crisis. Poor families from around the world have been strongly impacted by rising food prices and shortages. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, NM has been in the bottom three states for food insecurity over the last decade (1996-2006), in which 15.8 % of the NM population was characterized as having low or very low food security. This means approximately 300,000 NM residents were forced to skip meals, not eat so their children could, or simply worry about where their next meal would come from. Even more alarming, 35.0 % of these individuals were children. This represents a figure 41.0 % higher than the US national average of 11.2 %.

 

Although designed to help, America's food assistance system tends to distribute a high amount of unhealthy food to poor American families. If eaten regularly or in large portions, this food can often lead to obesity. Obesity and its related health conditions (e.g. strokes, heart disease) are very high among minorities, Hispanics and African Americans in particular. Unfortunately, NM residents reliant on food assistance through churches, community-based human service organizations, and food banks usually don't have a choice about eating healthy; instead they eat what they can access.

Food insecurity correlates directly with demographic factors such as ethnicity and income-to-poverty ratio as indicated by the rates of food insecurity being substantially higher than the national average for the following groups: households with incomes below the official poverty line (36.3 %), and Hispanic households (19.5 %). These rates are of particular significance when considering the residence of the city of SF, NM where 47.8 % of the population is Hispanic and 12.3 % of the population lives below the poverty line, which are again higher than the national average. Factors such as these, which act to compound the stress on the community of SF, are manifested through the health and behavior of SF's early and school aged youth.

 

According to the Santa Fe Public Schools (SFPS), close to 8% of SF's school-aged children are homeless at any given time. Youth Shelters and the Family Services Street Outreach Program reports 5,000 contacts per year with between 400 and 500 undocumented homeless and street youth each year. These youth have run away from unsafe or abusive home situations. In 2002, there were 796 reported cases of child abuse and neglect in SF County. Violence, juvenile crime and child abuse contribute to youth homelessness and continue to be problems for SF youth. Reports from the SF Regional Justice Board, indicate that SF has a "generational criminal problem," with 10% of children who receive counseling having incarcerated relatives and approximately 1,700 parents currently incarcerated resulting in 20% of SF's early and school aged youth in single parent households. Homeless youth have many urgent needs related to physical and mental health, job training, education, vulnerability to abuse, and basic survival. Unfortunately, job training opportunities in SF, which give homeless and disadvantaged youth a chance to lead a successful life, are limited.