Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Scarpinato.
Hi Lisa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In 2006, my husband, daughter, and I were trying to volunteer in our community. Many nonprofits turned us down as my daughter was too young to meet their age requirements. My husband and I wanted our daughter to be a good citizen and a good Samaritan; we felt strongly that volunteer work should be part of her upbringing. We knew there had to be a group of people in need of help, so we started meeting with people to gain some perspective on the needs within the community. On 9/3/2006, some friends came to our home for dinner; one of them was a school Principal in the Glendale neighborhood where I grew up. During dinner, I asked my friend Dennis how the school year was going. His response shocked us all. He grew silent, looked down at his dinner plate, and started to cry. Literal tears rolled down his face. After a few moments, he composed himself and shared that he had witnessed something recently at school that grieved his heart. He went on to explain that one day during lunch in the cafeteria, as most students were throwing food/trash away, he saw a young student reach into the trash and pull out a piece of pizza that someone had taken a few bites out of. She wrapped it in a napkin and put it in her pocket. She did that until her pockets were full of half-eaten food, and then she left the cafeteria. He later found out that she had a brother and sister, and their family struggled financially, so food outside of school was hard to come by. So this second-grade girl would collect food out of the cafeteria trash each day and take it home so the family had food on the weekend. In that moment, my husband and I exchanged a glance that needed no words. We had found our group of people to serve! Once our friends left that night, my husband did some research and said to me, “We have a childhood hunger problem in our city. I think we should start a nonprofit to help these kids. I think we should call it Kitchen on the Street, and I think we should start it tonight!” So, that’s what we did. Kitchen on the Street has had a variety of programs to assist food-insecure children and families over the nearly 20 years!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In 2006, we were not talking about hunger in America, let alone childhood hunger. That made it difficult to get schools to partner with us to distribute food to these children. Back then, shelf-stable foods were limited and not individually portioned; that has changed now. When we first started our Bags of Hope weekend nutrition program, we did so out of our house, buying food from our local grocery stores. Transporting the food was an issue because we had small cars; storing the food was an issue due to limited space in our home, and getting the food to school was a challenge because we worked full-time jobs. The entire first year, our family packed all the Bags of Hope that were distributed. The second year we started inviting friends and family over once a month to help. We started at the kitchen island, moved to the dining room table, and eventually set up an assembly line in the backyard. We used a lot of plastic grocery store bags, so one of our regular volunteers took it upon herself to become the “Bag Lady” and secure the bags we needed each month. We used boxes to transport the bags to partner schools for distribution, so one of our regular volunteers took it upon herself to become the “Box Lady,” making friends with the local grocery store produce manager to secure the boxes we needed. We eventually outgrew our house and moved to a school classroom. When demand grew, we moved to a warehouse that allowed us to purchase foods with specific nutrition content to ensure that these kids were getting the right fuel for their bodies and brains.
We also realized that most of the children served by Kitchen on the Street have very little food knowledge, so we created the Fresh on Deck nutrition education program. Free videos are available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@FreshonDeck. We use the videos to host interactive classes that empower kids to make informed food choices.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Kitchen on the Street operates through a Blue Ocean Strategy. While we are not the only organization to provide food assistance to food-insecure kids, we are one of the very few that provide nutrition education. In addition, we host a Jr. Board of Directors program for students in 6th grade through College. This program runs concurrently with the school year and into the summer depending on participants’ availability. Through the course of the year, Jr. Board Members research food insecurity, develop an elevator pitch about Kitchen on the Street, practice it on their friends and family, act as leaders at volunteer events, create a philanthropic philosophy, gain a better understanding of money and how nonprofits utilize donations to further their mission, and pitch a new program idea. In addition, they can attend Fresh on Deck classes and work alongside students in activities that support the lesson. This program provides them with a behind-the-scenes look at how nonprofits operate; they can use that knowledge to select nonprofits to support that align with their interests and passions.
In the 20 years since founding Kitchen on the Street, I am most humbled by a note I received from Ulysses. While our research indicates that once a child participates in a Kitchen on the Street program regularly, reading skills improve by 12% and math test scores increase by 26%. Those are both significant; Ulysses’ words will be forever tattooed on my heart. His note says, “I want to thank Kitchen on the Street for the amazing work and food you provide for us. You’ve made my life a better one.”
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
At a very young age, I knew that serving others was my calling. As the founder of Kitchen on the Street, I have the privilege of serving others by working alongside volunteers, teaching Fresh on Deck classes, hosting Jr. Board events, distributing Bags of Hope to food-insecure kids, and connecting people in need with resources. Every aspect of my position allows me to fulfill my calling; I am immensely grateful every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kitchenonthestreet.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kitchenonthestreet/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064687509009
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/18714558
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreshonDeck
