The NRC Café & Garden
Construction is currently underway to build a new kitchen and a whole foods café, complete with an organic garden. In addition to serving delicious food, the Café will offer youth and adults classes in healthy cooking, nutrition and organic gardening. Apprenticeships in food preparation and service will also be available through the NRC Café.
The NRC Café will offer:
- Healthy after-school snacks - Kids will learn how to prepare healthy snacks and learn about their nutritional value.
- Delicious, budget-friendly meals - Families can get together for tasty meals at the NRC Café. The NRC Café plans to offer themed brunches on Sundays once a month, showcasing different music, cultures and food from around the world. As soon as scheduling and funds permit, we will offer additional brunches and feature organic fair-trade coffees and whole grain muffins and fruit in the morning.
- Nutrition Education and Healthy Cooking Classes - New classes will cover the basics of nutrition education, how to choose and prepare foods so they retain their nutritional value.
- Organic Gardening - Volunteers are building a new, organic garden next to the NRC. We plan to grow many of the ingredients we'll use at the Café. Learn how you can help »
- Apprenticeship Training - Under the direction of the café manager, apprentices will learn about the value of whole foods, how to prepare them and how to create a menu of nutritious and appealing food. They will also learn how to manage inventory, budget and service components of the Café.
Another goal of the Café is to become a place where whole foods vendors can sell their organically grown bulk foods. The kitchen and Café will also be available for rental for special events, and for aspiring cooks and bakers during off-hours. Contact the NRC for more information!
We are thankful for all the planning and organizational support that we received from Leadership Metro Richmond. A team of lawyers, accountants and marketing professionals from Leadership Metro Richmond has provided financial, legal and marketing planning to get the Café off the ground. We're thankful for their help and insight, and for the many hours of "legwork" they have done on our behalf.