Dare To Care Is Working With Metro Government On Plans To Move Its Kitchen

Photo: Louisville Metro Council

Dare to Care is working with Metro Louisville to relocate its production kitchen operations to the site of the former Parkland Grocery, 1200 South 28th Street. At its current location, Dare to Care produces about 1,200 suppers each workday that are delivered to 34 afterschool sites in the community. The relocation would allow an expansion of this meal production and open the potential for other meal services, including additional Kids Café meals and congregate meal services for senior adults.

The site, owned by Metro Government, has now been vacant for several years but at one time was the location of the Parkland neighborhood’s closest grocery store.

“I want to make sure that everyone in the Parkland area has an opportunity to learn more about this plan,” says Councilwoman Jessica Green (D-1). “This is an opportunity to take an abandoned building and turn it into an asset to the neighborhood.”

In addition to its meal production services, Dare to Care would like to move its administrative and fundraising offices from its main distribution facility on Fern Valley Road to the Parkland Grocery. Other plans for the building include operating a Culinary Skills Job Training program in collaboration with Catholic Charities of Louisville, creating office space for the Metro Police Public Integrity Unit so that it can move from the former Parkland Library into the Parkland Grocery freeing the library for possible future reopening as a Louisville Free Public Library. Shell space for a future retail food market is also in the plan.

To discuss Dare to Care’s plans and get residents’ input, Councilwoman Green is hosting a neighborhood meeting on Thursday, October 18, at 6 pm, at the Baptist Fellowship Center, 1351 Catalpa Street. Brian Riendeau, Dare to Care Executive Director, will be at the meeting to detail the plan, listen to comments, and answer questions. Supper will be provided by Dare to Care.

“I encourage everyone to come out and ask questions about this plan and if you have some additional ideas let us know,” says Green.

Dare to Care Food Bank is a local nonprofit agency with a mission to lead the community to feed the hungry and conquer the cycle of need. In the past twelve months, Dare to Care distributed food for over 20 million meals to eight Kentucky and five Indiana counties. Dare to Care, through its Community Kitchen, serves 34 Kids Cafes in neighborhood afterschool locations and operates Backpack Buddy weekend nutrition programs in 38 Kentuckiana elementary schools. Learn more at www.daretocare.org.