I.       Problem Statement

This request for proposals is open only to 501(c) (3) nonprofit organizations operating in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

The 2010 USF St. Petersburg Student Philanthropy Board # 2 (USFSP SPB) requests proposals that will financially enrich an organization which provides vocational training manifested through the culinary arts to those whom find themselves homeless or mentally troubled. Utilizing the $5,000 grant, monies are intended to be utilized to further the arsenal of kitchen equipment or as a portion of start-up costs for a current central kitchen. The grant provided by the USFSP SPB is Federal funds and it carries all Federal restrictions. See Appendix I (Prohibited Program Activities).

According to the Pinnellas County Coalition for the Homeless; Eight Percent of households in Pinnellas County lack the sufficient means to obtain enough food to feed themselves properly. This translates to roughly 72,037 people. These 72,037 people account for the working poor with their families, homebound elderly and the homeless. A solution would be funding for Central Kitchens which help facility distribution, re-packaging, preparation and food collection as well as providing vocational training and OJT for those in need of training. Furthermore Central Kitchens can help promote local agriculture and facilitate local business entrepreneurs by providing commissary kitchen space.

Successful Central Kitchens are not an abstract idea. D.C. Central Kitchen provides a prototype of a central, self sustaining kitchen which provides food to those in need of nourishment, emergency relief, employment and vocational training for a wide and diverse spectrum of individuals from High School students to formally homeless individuals and former prison inmates.

Furthermore, Central Kitchens help provide a community cohesiveness as it is a widely accepted opinion that food is a unifying characteristic cross culturally. India’s immense community kitchens help exemplify their success by drawing as many as 5,000 diners to congregate in the process of  eating, cooking and cleaning together. Central kitchens do more than provide vocational training, food or economical advantages, they can also help provide Communal identity and cohesiveness.

Other organizations which have exemplified the high success of vocational training and rehabilitation in the area include; Vincent House focuses on rehabilitation and recovery for those with mental illness, aiding individuals in re-integrating with mainstream society and attaining steady employment their own statement helps sum up their mission “to assist promote and celebrate individuals recovering from mental illnesses in their effort to improve social and vocational skills and become employed in the community” 

First priority will be awarded to those organizations/ projects which focus attention on vocational training, providing nutritional assistance to those in need of food and providing support to local business.