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Each September, Foodlink goes orange to promote Hunger Action Month.

This year, so did our Community Kitchen. 

We gave the kitchen a splash (quite a few splashes, actually) of orange paint earlier this month to brighten up the place. Orange — the color of the nation’s first food stamps — means a great deal to Foodlink and everyone involved in the anti-hunger movement. Executive Director Julia Tedesco explained its significance in the latest installment of our Community Kitchen video series.

“[The orange walls] are incredibly symbolic for us,” Tedesco said. “Orange is the color of hunger, but I also wanted these orange walls because when people come through our kitchen, I wanted them to remember that it’s a community-based kitchen and what we’re doing here is preparing meals for children — up to 12,000 per day, eventually. These orange walls tell me that we’re here for the community and we’re here to end hunger.”

Hunger Action Month is a nationwide campaign, spearheaded by Feeding America, to mobilize the public to raise awareness about hunger in the United States. It’s an issue that exists in every county of the country, and one that still persists at alarming levels.

The timing of the paint hitting the walls MAY have been somewhat coincidental, but it certainly was appropriate. 

Looking elsewhere around the kitchen, you’ll notice the ceiling tile grids in place and some condenser units installed in the main kitchen area and Value-Added Processing room. The floor still very much has the look of a construction site, but we’re told the tiles are going in very soon. 

There are several high-speed doors now installed and plumbing throughout the facility. Other key milestones include the completion of the epoxy flooring near our new blast chiller, and the installation of the refrigeration boxes, which will soon be hooked up to electricity and the condensers. 

As we head into fall, it’s nice to have some color on the walls inside the kitchen. When the tiles go down in the coming weeks, I have a feeling that next month’s update will have an entirely different look and feel. 

Thanks for staying engaged with us throughout this process. It’s an exciting time at Foodlink, and we can’t wait to invite everyone in for a tour. 

Video: Executive Director Julia Tedesco talks about the Community Kitchen

Other videos are available on Foodlink’s YouTube channel.