The St. Rest + Food To Share Hub, supported by the F3 Initiative, is becoming a vital resource for Southwest Fresno. The Hub held a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 11, 2024 where local residents, funders, and community leaders gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the kitchen, office space, and storage facilities. On September 6, 2024, the Central Valley Community Foundation (CVCF) also hosted a Council of Business Sponsors event at the Hub, where attendees enjoyed a delicious menu from local food vendors and explored the Hub’s expanding role in food distribution and community engagement. The event showcased the Hub’s ability to not only rescue and redistribute food to underserved families but also support small, local food businesses.
Guests enjoyed a delicious menu of tamales, ceviche, salad, shishito peppers, fresh fruit cups, and watermelon agua fresca, all served in the new kitchen facility. Guests also took home honey-themed gift baskets from Madera's Queen Honey, a recent recipient of a CDFA Farm to School incubator grant. The luncheon highlighted the bounty and culinary talent that exists right here in the Central Valley, reinforcing the mission of F3 Local to uplift local food systems and vendors. A special thanks to the talented food vendors who made this event unforgettable: Maria & Griselda from La Promesa, who made the tamales; Fabiola Felix from Delicias Culiacan, who provided the ceviche, salad, and shishito peppers; and Fruta Fresca Adelita for the beautiful, fresh fruit cups. This event underscored the vital role that local vendors play in bringing fresh, healthy food to our communities and demonstrated the power of partnerships like F3 Local in building a stronger, more resilient Central Valley food system.
The St. Rest + Food To Share Hub is also offering Cooking Matters classes, a six-week cooking and nutrition course designed to teach participants how to prepare nutritious, low-cost meals at home. The class meets once a week for two hours, and participants take home a bag of groceries each week to practice the recipes they’ve learned. This hands-on approach empowers community members to make healthier food choices and improve their overall well-being. To learn more about the Food Hub, visit fresnometmin.org/StRest-Food-To-Share or click here to sign up for a Cooking Matters class. To learn more about the F3 (Farms Food Future), a Fresno DRIVE Initiative, visit www.f3initiative.org
“The St. Rest + Food To Share Hub and community kitchen is a tremendous asset for the community—not just as a place for local food access, but as a space where people can learn to prepare nutritious meals at home using seasonal, local ingredients. This creates a greater demand for local produce, benefiting both farmers and food businesses," said Rasheed Hislop of Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), an F3 Local partner. "At its core, F3 is about building community, and spaces like this bring people together around food, creating a welcoming environment for everyone to share a meal.”
See below for photos from both the Hub's grand opening and ribbon cutting celebration, as well as CVCF's Council of Business Sponsor's event.
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