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Dare to Care Food Bank broke ground today, on its new Dare to Care Community Kitchen in partnership with the Novak Family Foundation. The new Kitchen will be located at the site of a former grocery store at 28th and Virginia Streets in Louisville’s Parkland neighborhood. Opening in April 2020, the new Kitchen will triple the size of Dare to Care’s current kitchen, expanding capacity for existing and new programs to serve Kentuckiana’s 170,000 food insecure residents.
More than a new building, the Community Kitchen ushers in a new era of fighting hunger in the community according to Brian Riendeau, Dare to Care Executive Director.
“Since our founding 50 years ago, Dare to Care has grown and evolved to meet the changing needs of our hungry neighbors. This expanded capacity will equip us to launch innovative new programming designed to meet community needs in the next decade and beyond.”
To fund construction of the new facility, Dare to Care is launching a $7.1 Million capital campaign. The Novak Family Foundation continued its deep support of Dare to Care’s mission by providing the lead gift for the new facility.
“We believe that no person should ever go to bed hungry because of lack of access to food” Said David Novak, “We are honored to partner with such a forward-thinking organization like Dare to Care Food Bank. The new facility allows us to support the changing food insecurity needs of our community in new and expansive ways”
Yum! Brands, a longtime supporter of Dare to Care, is also stepping up to support the expansion.
“Dare to Care’s work around hunger relief is truly transforming people’s lives for the better, and Yum! Brands is honored to support their mission with this $1 million gift,” said Yum! Brands Chief Executive Officer Greg Creed. “In Yum!’s long history with Dare to Care, our partnership has always been focused on giving back to our hometown, helping those in need and making Louisville and the surrounding communities a great place for our local employees and their families. We’re excited to see how the new Dare to Care Community Kitchen will continue to achieve this goal.”
Together, Yum! Brands and its Louisville-based employees have contributed more than $16 million over 17 years to the Dare to Care Food Bank to end hunger in the Kentucky/Indiana region.
Louisville Metro Government owns the building and will enter into a long-term lease with Dare to Care.
“Dare to Care is a critical partner in the fight to end hunger in Louisville, and we are excited to partner with them on this expansion, which will spur innovative thinking around how to increase access to affordable and healthy food,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “This project will breathe new life into this commercial node in the Parkland neighborhood, attracting other retail and services to the area.”
Plans for the new facility include new programming, moving several Dare to Care staff from its Fern Valley main distribution facility, and collaborating with Catholic Charities’ Common Table job training program, providing it with a more extensive curriculum and greater enrollment capacity. Dare to Care’s new programming includes growing Kids Cafe afterschool sites, creating meals in various formats for senior citizens, processing produce and recovered food to make it easier to use and lengthen its shelf life, expanding the reach of its nutrition education programming, and providing a platform for the creation of programs to meet future needs.
Construction is beginning at the new site and is expected to be completed in April 2020.
For more information and to learn how to join in the capital campaign, visit https://daretocare.org/learn-more/community-kitchen/.
After less than a year, a new restauranteur is ready to move out of the kitchen incubator program at Chef Space and into a storefront of his own.
Open Caribbean Kitchen owner Ernst Pierre today opened his new restaurant, located at 4735 Poplar Level Road, Suite 1. Open Caribbean Kitchen serves a variety of Caribbean food, including Haitian, Dominican, and Trinidadian.
Pierre, a transplant to Louisville from Jacksonville, Fla., joined Chef Space in November 2018, where he has operated his business as part of the kitchen incubator’s membership track. Chef Space enabled him to cut his production time and easily test new recipes.
Pierre also graduated from the Entrée-preneurship program, a free 10-week series of classes designed to foster the development of new restauranteurs and food entrepreneurs by providing front and back of house training, as well as budgeting and marketing. The Entrée-preneurship Series began in 2018 out of the city’s Small Business Development team and has graduated over 80 entrepreneurs with skills needed to start or grow their businesses in Louisville’s food industry. The program is now administered by Chef Space.
“Supporting aspiring entrepreneurs with programs like Chef Space and Entree-preneurship helps Louisville maintain its status as a world-class culinary city,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “We celebrate with Ernst Pierre as he takes his business to the next level and wish him great success.”
With the support of Chef Space, members can experience the multifaceted factors of operating in the food industry with less financial overhead and insecurity as one would experience when opening their own storefront. Since its inception, Chef Space has graduated several members into their own storefronts and business spaces.
Operating since 2015, Chef Space is Louisville’s first kitchen incubator. Chef Space was started by Community Ventures, a nonprofit community development corporation committed to improving the lives of the residents of west Louisville. The 13,000-square-foot facility offers multiple food preparation and processing stations, access to capital, storage space, and training opportunities for its members.
Alongside Community Ventures, Chef Space exists because of the generous support of its funders and community partners, including: Louisville Metro Government, Community Foundation of Louisville, Community Trust Bank, the Department of Treasury New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), the Department of Health and Human Services Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), Gheens Foundation, Horn Foundation, Humana Foundation, James Graham Brown Foundation, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, Kentucky Reinvestment Fund, Kentucky Bank’s Bank Enterprise Award, Neighborworks America, Prodigy Construction Corporation, Sam Swope Family Foundation, Texas Roadhouse, Traditional Bank, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and Wilson Industries.
Additional information about Chef Space is available at www.chefspace.org. If you would like more information about Open Caribbean Kitchen and the upcoming grand opening, or about Chef Space in general, please contact Jessica Morgan at (502) 566-6076 or jmorgan@cvky.org.
Credit: Louisville Metro Police
Since the beginning of 2019, Louisville Metro Police are seeing a noticeable increase in both auto theft and theft from cars in the Central Business District of Downtown.
As a result, the “Lock, Take, and Hide” campaign is now underway to remind drivers and passengers of the simple ways in which to prevent theft involving automobiles.
“There are times when we are in a hurry and we just don’t think when we get out of a car. Every time, we forget to lock the door or leave things in plain sight, we are offering an invitation to thieves to steal,” says Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith (D-4). “There are simple common-sense things we can do to curb this trend. I hope “Lock, Take and Hide” will be practical reminder of how to stop theft in its tracks.”
The Councilwoman and officers of the LMPD’s First Division announced the campaign today. One hundred signs are being posted around the downtown area with the simple reminder of: Lock your car, Take your keys and Hide your belongings.
New statistics from the First Division show auto theft and theft of things taken from an auto have increased over last year in the Central Business District:
Auto Theft
- YTD 2018 – 228
- YTD 2019 – 264
- 15.8 % increase
Theft from Auto
- YTD 2018 – 361
- YTD 2019 – 498
- 38 % increase
“The 1st Division is very excited to partner with Councilwoman Barbara Sexton-Smith in the “Lock, Take and Hide” campaign. Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in stolen automobiles and theft from autos. The officers of the 1st Division are working very hard, but we need the community’s help. Many of these crimes could have been prevented,” said Major Andrew McClinton of LMPD. “We all need to step up and “Lock, Take and Hide” our valuables. Working together, we can significantly reduce these crimes. We appreciate all the support and look forward to making this campaign a success”
“Together, we can bring an end to this trend,” said Sexton Smith.
If you see any suspicious activity around and auto, then call 574-LMPD.
Photo: Louisville Metro Council
It began as a simple idea back in 1969, and today C&S Machine and Manufacturing Corporation was honored by Councilwoman Keisha Dorsey (D-3) for its commitment to the community and its impact on the local economy in Metro Louisville.
“It may be hard for many people to believe but what began as a simple idea between two men in a small garage has grown into the thriving business that C&S has become today,” said Councilwoman Dorsey during a special ceremony to commemorate National Manufacturing Day.
Back in 1969, Robert Steele and Ronnie Cook founded C&S General Machine in a small garage on Cook’s Property. By 1980, the company expanded and located to 3828 Fitzgerald Road and was renamed C&S Machine and Manufacturing Corporation.,
It is a full CNC production plant, specializing in precision production parts, large and small. It has built a loyal customer base by offering dependable and high-quality machine shop services. The company has 50 employees, runs three shifts and serves many industries in the region.
Today, Ryan Steele, grandson of one of the founders is the fifth president of the company.
“We should take this opportunity to say thank you to local companies like these. They believed in an idea, believed in the community and decided to make their future here in District 3 and Metro Louisville. C & S has made a considerable difference and impact in our community,” said Dorsey.
For more information, contact Councilwoman Dorsey’s office at 574-1103.
This month at Locust Grove:
Afternoon Lecture Series
Stuart Sanders: Kentucky Duels
Wednesday, October 2, 1:15 pm
You’re aware of Alexander Hamilton’s duel with Aaron Burr, but did you know that there were some remarkable affairs of honor in Kentucky? Join author and public historian Stuart W. Sanders to discuss some of the Commonwealth’s most remarkable duels and their impact on the Bluegrass State. It’s a lecture at ten paces!
The Locust Grove Afternoon Lecture Series is held the first Wednesday of each month. Dessert and coffee are served at 1:00 pm with the lecture immediately following at 1:15 pm. Admission is $6, $4 for Friends of Historic Locust Grove. Reservations are not required.
Part of The Age of Hamilton series at Locust Grove.
Frankenstein: A Reading Performance by Kentucky Shakespeare
Tuesday, October 22, 7:00 pm
Right in time for Halloween, join Kentucky Shakespeare in the great parlor inside Locust Grove’s historic home as they bring this classic story to life in a staged reading performance. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley wrote and published Frankenstein during the Croghan’s occupancy of Locust Grove, making this a perfect melding of worlds to mark the season. Light refreshments provided. Tickets $20 per person or $15 for Locust Grove members; prepaid reservations required. Visit http://bit.ly/lgfrankenstein to reserve. Doors open at 6:00 pm; performance begins at 7:00 pm.
18th Century Market Fair
Saturday, October 26 and Sunday, October 27 10:00 am – 4:30 pm
Experience the 18th century with all five senses! You are invited to join Locust Grove and the Illinois Regiment of Virginia as we bring the spirit of the past alive with the Market Fair. You can participate in 18th-century style entertainment, purchase replicas of 18th-century military and household items and enjoy food and drink as our founders did. See the sheep, and horses, and meet and converse with early Americans. Mock battles for our country’s independence feature General George Rogers Clark’s own company, the Illinois Regiment of Virginia, as well as British Dragoons and Marines. Admission $8 adults, $4 children.
Bloomberg Philanthropies, through its What Works Cities initiatives, has selected Louisville as one of five American cities to implement an innovative early childhood education program designed to empower parents and caregivers with tools to support language development at a critical age — and help children enter kindergarten classroom ready.
The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL), in partnership with Louisville Metro Government, Jefferson County Public Schools, Metro United Way, and other community partners that make up the Ready for K Alliance, will expand its Say & Play with Words initiative. This expansion will incorporate the curriculum of Providence Talks, a Bloomberg-funded program in Providence, R.I. In addition to Bloomberg Philanthropies, Say & Play with Words is funded by Lift a Life Foundation, Louisville Metro Government, PNC Grow Up Great®, Metro United Way, the Gheens Foundation, and C. E. and S. Foundation.
“We’re thankful to Bloomberg Philanthropies and our local partners for supporting Louisville families with the needed support to be ready for school on Day 1,” Mayor Greg Fischer said. “Louisville is in a period of unprecedented economic momentum, but we know the benefits aren’t being experienced equally across the community. There’s a disparity with deep and disturbing roots in our history. Through efforts such as Say & Play with Words, SummerWorks, Evolve502 and more, our core city value of lifelong learning continues to be a major piece of our efforts to erase this disparity.”
The expanded Say & Play with Words program, championed and supported by the community partners over the next three years, will be centered on creating playgroups and parent groups in targeted Louisville ZIP code areas that demonstrate high percentages of children not ready for kindergarten.
NCFL will serve as the lead implementor of the expansion, building on existing city infrastructure with new and current NCFL partner sites. The local effort will integrate innovative LENA (Language ENvironment Analysis) technology to track and measure words used in the home to gauge parent behavior change as a result of participation. Over three years, more than 1,200 families will participate in Say & Play with Words.
“The National Center for Families Learning is excited to lead our community partners in the expansion of Say & Play with Words. This inaugural support from Bloomberg Philanthropies allows us to engage parents and children together in informal settings like play groups and parent-facilitated parent groups. In our 30 years of working with millions of families across the country, we have found that the two key ingredients to support the success of the family are: empowering parents through education and bringing the family together to learn.” Sharon Darling, CEO & Founder of NCFL shared.
Combined with local investments, the support provided across five cities totals nearly $12 million over three years. The other four cities that are replicating Providence Talks are: Birmingham, AL; Detroit, MI; Hartford, CT; and Virginia Beach, VA.
Providence Talks was the first-ever Grand Prize Winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge, an innovation competition that awards and promotes cities with bold, inventive ideas that address urgent challenges and have the most potential for impact and the ability to spread to other cities.
The program provides families with a small recording LENA device known as a ‘word pedometer’ that counts adult words spoken in a child’s presence, as well as the number of conversational interactions a child engages in during the day. Research shows that robust exposure to words and conversation—from birth to age four—is crucial for children’s vocabulary building and brain development.
“Providence Talks shows just why we launched the Mayors Challenge: to help cities take on big challenges, test innovative ideas, and then spread what works best,” said Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and the 108th Mayor of New York City. “Providence Talks has had promising results, helping thousands of young children increase their language development. Today, we’re glad to help five new cities adapt the program and work to achieve similar progress.”
A Brown University study of Providence Talks found:
- Children who participated in the program made significant gains in the number of words they heard and turns they took in conversations and in language development.
- In the Home Visitation model, 56% of all children showed growth in the number of adult words they heard and 42% increased their number of turns taken in conversations.
- In the Playgroup model, 73% of all the children showed growth in the number of adult words they hear daily and 56% increased their number of turns taken in conversations.
- The largest gains were seen in children who started the furthest behind. These children, on average, showed a 51% growth in the number of adult words they hear daily, going from an average of 8,000 to over 12,100 words per day. This jump from the 11th to the 42nd percentile in eight months is substantial, moving from the lowest quartile of words heard to about the average level.
- By the end of the program, children in the program showed, on average, a 15 percentile point increase in the Developmental Snapshot score, a tool used to measure a child’s development progress (or language skills).
Bloomberg Philanthropies will support this programming with grants in each city. Cities will also receive the technology and software, including talk pedometer devices, software, and other tools required to replicate the approach. These critical technological resources are provided by LENA, a national nonprofit organization that develops technology to measure talk.
Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell is adding to his senior leadership team with the retirement of the office’s First Assistant, Matthew Golden, on October 1. Eric Graninger replaces Golden in the office’s highest appointed position.
Graninger has been an Assistant County Attorney since 2009 and his primary practice was in the office’s Employment and Labor section. Most recently he served as Civil Division Director, responsible for overseeing the office’s duties as the legal representative for all of Louisville Metro Government. He spent 18 years with the national office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), where he rose to be their general counsel, prior to joining the County Attorney’s office.
“There is no one that I know more worthy than Eric Graninger to take on this critical role,” O’Connell said. “Matt and Eric have worked closely over the past years and have been working toward a smooth transition to best serve the people of Jefferson County.”
Earlier in his career, Graninger served as a staff attorney for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, as a law clerk to the late Judge Hugh Dillin of the Federal District Court, and was Editor in Chief of his law review at Indiana University in Indianapolis.
In a corresponding move, Sarah Martin has been promoted to Civil Division Director as Graninger assumes the role of First Assistant. Martin became an Assistant County Attorney in 2008 and has served as the office’s lead lawyer for matters related to the Metro Council since 2016. Her previous service with the office includes leadership roles with the Louisville Metro Human Relations Commission, the Jefferson County Board of Elections and as a trial court prosecutor. Martin served in private practice prior to becoming an Assistant County Attorney and is a graduate of the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law and Miami of Ohio University.
Martin joins Ingrid Geiser (Criminal Division Director) and Diane Fleming (Child Support Division Director) in leading the office’s three respective divisions. Both Geiser and Fleming have more than 20 years’ experience each as lawyers for the Commonwealth. LeeAnn Swanson serves as the office’s Chief Financial Officer.
Josh Abner has been named Executive Administrator. Abner, the office’s Communications Director since 2016, will retain his role as the office’s public information officer and take on additional duties as an adviser in policy development and intergovernmental relations.
“These are challenging times as we face uncertain state and local budgets but we must stay true to our duties to represent the Commonwealth of Kentucky and Louisville Metro Government,” O’Connell said. “I am confident that we have the right team in place to continue to do the next right thing on behalf of people in Jefferson County. I thank Matt Golden for his immeasurable contributions to this office and to our community.”
Golden leaves the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office after first starting as an entry-level law clerk in 1995. He held nearly every role possible during his time with the office, serving as a trial court prosecutor, a DUI prosecutor, head of vice prosecution, civil litigation defense attorney, Tax Director, Civil Division Director and Second Assistant. He rose to the top position earlier this year following the death of his mentor Julie Hardesty, the office’s longtime First Assistant who had held the role since 2001. Golden moves into private practice as a partner with Daniels Associates LLP.
The Jefferson County Attorney’s Office is one of the largest legal offices in the Commonwealth of Kentucky with more than 330 employees, including approximately 130 attorneys.