The Rich Family Foundation recently donated $150,000 to Buffalo City Mission to support the construction of a new, state-of-the-art kitchen to add to their emerging one-stop Community Center. The new kitchen will be named the Rich Family Kitchen of Hospitality and is scheduled to open in 2020.
The Rich Family Foundation recently donated $150,000 to Buffalo City Mission to support the construction of a new, state-of-the-art kitchen to add to their emerging one-stop Community Center. The new kitchen will be named the Rich Family Kitchen of Hospitality and is scheduled to open in 2020.
The new space is 150 percent larger than the kitchen Buffalo City Mission currently uses and will allow the organization to increase its food production for the community by at least 20 percent.
“It’s like going from a Volkswagen to a Cadillac,” said Mike Smith, Associate Director of Buffalo City Mission in an interview with the Buffalo News. “From equipment, space, flow, the ease, the preparing – the logistics of everything.”
The area will also double as a communal dining center, so members of the community can enjoy their meal among company.
“This gift is an amazing example of how we can transform lives through the power of hospitality and food,” said Aubrey Calhoun, Associate Executive Director of the Buffalo City Mission. “It reminds us all about the power of sharing a meal as a way to bring our community even closer together.”
The Rich Family Kitchen of Hospitality will be a key part of Buffalo City Mission’s new Community Center, which will be used to provide preventative services to decrease the percentage of homelessness in the city, as well as deliver complete care to individuals who already experience homelessness. This includes space for social service agencies, case management, mental health services, medical care, job training, basic family services, legal services, food, clothing and more.
“The Rich Family Foundation is proud to support the Buffalo City Mission’s important service for our community’s poor and homeless,” said Howard Rich, Vice President of Corporate Relations. “We share their commitment to lifting up the lives of individuals through hospitality, health, food and fellowship. This donation is our way of helping the Buffalo City Mission advance its work to better our community.”
