I’ve had a number of memorable meals at Boucherie. I met chef Nathanial Zimet when he opened the place and I’ve gotten to know him pretty well. I was not surprised when I heard he was behind the lunches at the school our youngest attends, St. George’s, and I’m not surprised he’s expanding that work through Boucherie Eats. Here’s the pitch:
Boucherie’s Executive Chef and Owner Nathanial Zimet believes wholeheartedly that all residents of New Orleans deserve to not only be fed, but fed well. That’s why we’ve started Boucherie Feeds: a program dedicated to providing complete, nutritious and tasty meals to students in low-income areas throughout New Orleans. While New Orleans is known for its rich food history and culture, one in five New Orleanians live with food insecurity, and 64% of children in Orleans Parish are income-eligible for federal nutrition programs. In addition to Boucherie’s current school breakfast and lunch program, a recent partnership with the “Healthy School Food Collaborative” now gives Boucherie the opportunity to deliver nutritious meals to 500 public school students throughout the city — Not just in school, but directly to their homes, seven days a week! But the goal is much bigger. Over the next three years, we aim to serve 5,000 meals a day! A program of this size and ambition requires a lot of infrastructure and labor to cook, package and transport to schools and student’s homes. With your help, we can help grow Boucherie Feeds and enable it to reach as many students in need as possible. Help make this a reality for the children of our city. Please keep in mind that Boucherie is a for-profit business. It is not a 501(c)3. Your contribution is not tax deductible and is not considered a charitable donation by the IRS.
I should note that I’ve worked with Healthy School Food Collaborative in my time with Chef’s Brigade, and in my opinion we couldn’t have done what we did without them. So it’s no surprise they’re working with Nathanial Zimet on this project.
What they’re all demonstrating is that we can feed our kids good, healthy food cooked by local restaurants, generally using locally sourced ingredients. They’re also showing that it can be done at a cost that is competitive with the institutional food businesses who generally provide the meals our kids eat at school.
That’s huge, and it’s something that should spread. I hope it does and I wish Nathanial and HSFC success in making it happen.
