This year has been calamitous and heartbreaking in so many ways. The pandemic health crisis continues to ravage our country, and the associated, still-unfolding economic crisis has made millions of Americans food and income insecure, many for the first time in their lives. Our community kitchen partners have seen dramatic spikes in need. Culinary training programs that were designed as food service job training, have become on-the-job training, as organizations have pivoted to hunger relief. Funds from your purchase of Jacques’ posters go directly to community organizations who have risen to the occasion.
Despite our own loss of event revenue, the Jacques Pépin Foundation has committed to maintaining and even expanding our programs in 2020. Our annual grants program has already dispersed over $120,000 across organizations from CA, and AZ to NY, MA and CT. We expect to exceed our 2020 goal of $200,000 in grants. In addition, the JPF is engaged in creating on-line culinary curriculum to support organizations that have gone virtual, and creating video tutorials on how to maximize the flavor and nutritional value of Food Bank offerings and SNAP benefits, to serve families facing these challenges perhaps for the first time.
To continue this effort, we need your help. For our 2020 Relief Campaign, we have extended our offering of prints of Jacques’ artwork to the end of the year. A limited number of hand-signed prints are available on request by email: info@jp.foundation. The need of our country’s under-served citizens, and now restaurant workers is greater than ever. Please help us support our community kitchen partners, fighting on the front lines of hunger relief.
Thank you, stay well and be kind.
