Mitchell Rogers, whose newly launched Chatham Ice Cream Bars have become a hit treat for residents and visitors alike, met Henry at the Cape Cod Culinary Institute and immediately became an FTC volunteer. “This new relationship benefits FTC, Cape Wellness Collaborative, and the community at large,” Wheeler relates.Īllowing the community to participate is the essence of the co-founders’ vision. “Our Maker’s Market allows culinary entrepreneurs on Cape Cod to share their products with the public year round,” says Wheeler, “which is key when trying to survive a traditionally seasonal economy.” Now, Wellness Eats can provide greater amounts of free nutritious meals to people dealing with cancer. Plus, they can sell healthy meals to the public through FTC’s Maker’s Market as a new revenue stream. The FTC is also hosting Wellness Eats, a food program by the cancer support organization Cape Wellness Collaborative. “Wellness Eats didn’t have a permanent home, so we brought them under our roof,” says Wheeler. To help combat this, FTC meals feature healthy proteins and fresh produce, and Wheeler says she is “committed to spice.” She is also planning a pilot program to teach how to make meals from ingredients typically available at food pantries. “A person constantly hungry and driven by economic strife ends up getting high-fat, high-salt, highly processed food that does not allow the body to function as it should.” “Not all food is created equally,” she says. Wheeler stresses that local need remains strong, and their team focuses on nutritional security, as the low-cost foods that struggling community members can afford often lack complex nutrients. FTC’s first two years were a success thanks to local foundations, a financial arrangement with the Riverway owners, in-kind donations from Cape Cod food producers, incredible volunteer efforts, and the enormous passion of Wheeler and Henry. “We were helped by the Cape Codder Resort, Guaranteed Fresh Produce, and Camp Wingate Kirkland before we moved into Riverway,” says Wheeler. The pair reached out to the American Culinary Federation, which had been receiving calls from restaurants about potential donations, and the food delivery collaboration took flight.Īlmost immediately FTC found generous support within the restaurant and food industry. “I had been cooking for him under an Urban Agenda grant, and we both saw that food security would be an issue with COVID-19,” she says. Wheeler, who has experience operating soup kitchens as well as running her own gourmet prepared food services company, met Henry as part of the Cape Cod Culinary Incubator, where he served as board president. “We are creating something that will help all of Cape Cod, and it really is a community-wide effort.” We’re working towards creating a self-sustaining nonprofit,” says Wheeler. Proceeds from these public-facing endeavors support FTC’s meal distribution program for needy Cape Codders. In addition, the building boasts workforce housing and a community garden. The reborn property, renovated by volunteers, is now The Commons at Riverway and operates as a café, tavern, and local Maker’s Market.īut that’s not all-FTC also rents its commercial kitchen to food makers and entrepreneurs and offers space for community functions, fundraising dinners, and wine and spirit pairings. Since that time, their new nonprofit has not only prepared and directly distributed more than 90,000 meals, soups, and other food items within the Cape community, it has also found a permanent home at the former Riverway Lobster House restaurant in Yarmouth. They were tears of joy, but the experience was so emotionally overwhelming,” Wheeler adds. “I think for the first six months I would cry every day as we were doing distributions. For the two culinarily connected friends, it was an important and immediate response to an urgent need at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We kept hearing that it was the only home-cooked meal they were getting every week,” says Jeni Wheeler of the Cape Cod families and seniors she and her Family Table Collaborative (FTC) co-founder Harry Henry began feeding in March 2020.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |