Lives are changed as hope is embraced. 

Within the nurturing, loving environment of Christ Kitchen, women learn work skills, life skills, and relational needs are met. We offer a community of hope.

Hope is the foundation on which this ministry is built. Women come through our doors facing employment and life challenges after incarceration, trafficking, abuse, addiction, and other challenges. We see transformative and lasting healing as these women learn to become employable, self-sufficient, and Christ-reliant.

Christ Kitchen combines business and philanthropy to break the cycle of poverty for women and the children who rely on them for survival. Our vision is a community where no woman lives in poverty due to lack of skills, abusive relationships, or reliance on government or unhealthy substances. Our job training and employment fosters character and leadership development, reduces the load on our foster care and welfare systems, and increases the economic base of our region.

Through the production and sale of dried food products, catering, a food truck, cafe and coffee house, Christ Kitchen offers women nine job training matrices, so that they can become employable in a position that provides a living wage and benefits. These training programs are beginning culinary arts, commercial baking, catering, food truck management, barista, customer service/marketing, office administration, retail/wholesale, and horticulture/gardening.

DEI STATEMENT

Diversity and Inclusion are key characteristics of our program. Our approach is very deliberate in actively fostering diversity among employees, volunteers, and members of our Board of Directors, our Mission Impact Council, and volunteers.

We believe that it is our calling to love people unconditionally in order to create an environment that respects and values individual differences along varying dimensions. While diversity is often used in reference to race, ethnicity, and gender, we embrace a broader definition of diversity that also includes age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language, and physical appearance.

Our definition also includes diversity of thought: ideas, perspectives, and values. We love everyone in the name of Jesus. Love and acceptance are reflected in our mission, vision, and values; incorporated into our strategic plan; and cascaded throughout our daily work.

MISSION IMPACT COUNCIL

The Mission Impact Council is…

• A volunteer fundraising leadership group created to advance the mission of Christ Kitchen, through an investment of time, talent and treasure, in partnership with the Development Manager and CEO.
• Focused on increasing opportunity and equity for women living in poverty, and the children that rely on them for survival.
• An opportunity to actively engage with and support local community and make a mighty impact in the fight against poverty.

If this is a ministry you want to learn more about, please contact us. This group meets every other month over dinner at the Kitchen.

Christ Kitchen Heroes

When I became a teenager I started relying on men for validation. I was in one toxic relationship after another. When I was 16 I fell in love with a guy who was mentally and verbally abusive. I started frequenting parties, drinking and eventually smoking pot. I quickly became known as a party girl. At one of those parties I was introduced to OxyContin. I remember the overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be okay. I started experimenting with other drugs, and eventually lost my best friend to an overdose. Nobody wakes up one day and says, “I want to throw my life away and become a drug addict”. It happens slowly over time. I compromised little pieces of myself until I didn’t recognize the person I’d become. I was so consumed by darkness. At my lowest point I was homeless and living in a car with no rear window in the middle of December. I was nine weeks pregnant. I was freezing. I hadn’t eaten in days. I was absolutely hopeless. Then God opened a door for me! I was admitted to a hospital for pregnant women suffering from withdrawal. In my hopelessness and desperation I began to pray. My shame consumed me. What had I done to my unborn child? How could anyone forgive me? I became overwhelmed with the desire to know Jesus. It was not a coincidence that I was given an opportunity at Christ Kitchen. They have given me value, self-worth, confidence and a support system. Today, I am a devoted Christian, a mother, a friend, an employee, a sister, and a loving daughter. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13

June 2023 – “Ah Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” Jeremiah 32:17 It’s the middle of June – summer hasn’t even officially yet begun. Yet our raised bed gardens at the Kitchen, and at our homes, are already bursting with blossoms and early fruits. Many of our women would tell you, if someone suggested they would become gardeners they’d have laughed. But nothing is too hard for our God, and here we are sowing seeds, raising healthy plants, and learning greenhouse techniques! We see confidence blooming as well, as our women see the fruits of their labor and the work of the Master Gardener. Stay tuned for more garden updates!

I grew up neglected. Mom and I moved a lot, constantly living in new apartments with new men. One of my earliest memories was being terrified to go home because of the way my mother’s “newest” boyfriend was treating us. I remember them fighting violently and loudly. I lived in a constant state of terror. I would hide in the back of my closet, waiting for him to come for me, which he always did. I would wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of mice squeaking and scratching inside the walls. It smelled horrible and I was always afraid. My mom would nod off in the chair, and when I couldn’t wake her, I would be so afraid that I would curl up and sleep on the floor at her feet. She would wake up screaming at me when she tripped over my small body. The molestation continued, from my grandfather and from men my mother brought home. When I was 19, I met Nate. He was extremely aggressive and abusive. He threatened to kill me, my son, and my family if I ever left him. He would tell me how worthless I was, that no one would ever love me. He would choke me. Beat me. Hurt me. I wanted to die with every fiber of my being. This lasted for over a year. Not long after I escaped, I found meth would numb the pain and lies in my head. I became even more promiscuous. I believed sex was all men wanted. When I became pregnant with my daughter I used drugs until I was 8 months along. When she was born, I abandoned her, just like I did my son. I was so afraid that I would destroy them and that I would never get clean. In my darkest hour, I cried out to God and He intervened in my life. Through a miracle, He led me to an 18-month recovery program, which then led me to Christ Kitchen. I have never in my life felt so loved and supported. The women are caring, completely accepting, and they model the unconditional love of Christ. I found the love that I had so desperately wanted in my childhood. There, I re-committed my life to Jesus. I know the truth of who I am now. I am redeemed, cherished, and I have a purpose! I now have full custody of my daughter, and visitation with my son. I am a mentor and leader for SAVANON, a ministry for sexually abused women. I have a lovely home, a nice car and I have graduated from Christ Kitchen into full-time employment with benefits and retirement! I would have never thought this would be possible for me. I have done so well in my current position, that I am now in management training. I thank God for leading me to Christ Kitchen, where my entire life changed. I am a living, breathing, walking miracle!