Supported by a three-year $125,000 grant from the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, Food for Thought is launching the Full Circle Kitchen program to expand service and commitment to food insecure children and their families in Okaloosa and Walton Counties.

The program will bring students into Food for Thought’s Santa Rosa Beach Pantry where they will learn fundamental cooking skills from restaurant partners and local chefs.

The Full Circle Kitchen program is offered to high school students enrolled in Food for Thought. It will provide a fully functional teaching kitchen with basic cooking equipment and a safe learning environment to acquire the skills necessary to prepare a meal. Students will build upon the skills they learned the week before in classes designed around limited budgets and access to food.

“By providing life skills, education, and job placement opportunities, we will have seen these children from Kindergarten through graduation and ensured they have the skills to thrive and making a lasting impact on our community,” said Food For Thought Founder and Executive Director Tiffanie Nelson.

The grant from the Emeril Lagasse Foundation will support capital needs, operating expenses and programming efforts associated with the program’s newly constructed teaching kitchen.

For more info, visit Food for Thought and the Emeril Lagasse Foundation.