Facilities · Kitchen
Two hundred and thirty snacks, every day.
A commercial kitchen with a hood, a six-burner range, two ovens, a walk-in, and a menu that kids cost out to the penny.
- Snacks/day
- 230
- Budget
- $2.14/kid
- Menu cycle
- 4 weeks
- Staff
- 3 + kids
The kitchen is the smallest room on this list doing the most work. It produces snack for 230 kids a day at six sites, plus lunch during summer camp, plus the family night pizza, plus whatever the kitchen table program is experimenting with on a Wednesday.
Equipment
- Six-burner commercial range and two convection ovens
- A hood that a previous tenant installed and that we maintain because it costs $9,000 to replace
- A walk-in cooler, a reach-in freezer, and three stainless prep tables
- A three-compartment sink and a commercial dishwasher
- Cambros, sheet pans, and a labeling system that a health inspector once described as 'better than most restaurants'
The menu cycle
| Week | Snack | Cost per kid |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fruit, yogurt, granola (nut-free) | $2.09 |
| 2 | Bean and cheese quesadillas, salsa, orange | $2.31 |
| 3 | Rice, lentils, roasted vegetables | $1.88 |
| 4 | Soup and bread, apple | $2.28 |
Average $2.14. The budget is set annually and the kitchen table kids cost the menu out every cycle, including the labor-adjacent stuff like delivery and cleanup. Twice a year their menu goes to the whole program, which is why week 3 has lentils in it.
Food safety
Two staff hold current food handler certifications and one holds a ServSafe manager certificate. Temperature logs are kept daily and reviewed weekly. We are a nut-free facility: no tree nuts, no peanuts, no shared equipment. Allergen alternatives are prepared first, plated identically, and labeled.
The kids who cost out the menu start noticing prices everywhere. They come back and tell me the grocery store is ripping us off on oranges. They are usually right.
Come see the rooms
Tours run Tuesdays at 4:00 and Saturdays at 11:00. No appointment needed, but call if you want a specific program lead.