Taste Project

--- $16,000 Match Available ---

Taste Project's flagship program, Taste Community Restaurant, is more than your average restaurant; it's a community place where all are welcome regardless of financial means. 

Opened in Fort Worth in 2017, Taste Community Restaurant is a full-service restaurant located in the heart of 76104. The menu has no prices and guests can pay what you can. Those in need and those wanting to help are not segregated, in order to create an environment that is approachable and refreshing. Guests can do one of the following:

1. Pay what you can afford,
2. Pay what you would typically pay, or
3. Pay what you would typically pay, plus a little extra to help a neighbor in need.

In addition to serving nearly 200,000 people at Taste Community Restaurant, we have: 

• Served over 50 tons of fresh produce.
• Engaged over 3,000 volunteers in the work we do.
• Established a working community garden in 76104.
• Graduated 52 apprentices from our certified culinary training programs.  

Today your North Texas Giving Day gift looks like a nutritious meal served with dignity at Taste Community Restaurant in Fort Worth.  Today, it looks like:   

• A Fresh Outlook:  “I usually come here after a Dr.’s visit, or just when I’m feeling low or lonely.  As always, my spirits are lifted from the moment I walk thru the door & until I leave!  I feel special, wanted, & very much welcomed.  The food is always great and nutritious (the only good & healthy meal I eat is here).  Thank you for all your hard work.  This place [fills] my soul & my belly!  Love you all” – Taste Community Restaurant Guest
• A Hand Up:   Stacy and her family joined us for lunch after they heard about Taste Community Restaurant on the radio.  Her family had lost their home and had been living in a hotel room; but after finding Taste she was able to volunteer, learn a skill, and attain employment.  Her family was able to secure housing and is now thriving!    
• A Second Chance:   “If it wasn’t for the Fort Worx program, I’d probably be working a crappy job, living paycheck to paycheck, just being miserable.” --Dom Dixon, Fort Worx Graduate and Current Sous Chef Apprentice.

But tomorrow your North Texas Giving Day gift will look like:

• Increased Access to Healthy Foods:  We are working to replicate our Taste Community Restaurant program to ensure more people in our community can access healthy foods.  On August 2nd, the Arlington City Council approved a lease with Taste Project to open a second location at 200 N. Cooper.  
• Improved Health: We are partnering with Texas A&M to research and improve diet quality amongst people who are food insecure in order to reduce chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.   
• Economic Empowerment:  We are expanding our certified Culinary Training Programs to serve more adults attain a living wage with an in-demand culinary credential.  Our workforce development programs focus on low-income adults with the goal of poverty reduction and household stabilization.  

2nd Location Coming Soon: Taste Community Restaurant in Arlington, Texas.  

#Hunger #Employment #WorkforceDevelopment #Food #FaithBased