INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – Kitchen of Kindness is on a mission to give back to the community. The nonprofit is a volunteer-driven program through Chabad Cares Nevada and aims to assist those in need including seniors, hospitalized individuals and families by providing meals, support, and connection.
When asked how the idea for the program first came to fruition, Executive Director of Chabad Cares Nevada, Rabbi Moshe Cunin, said “The inspiration for the idea was from my wife and her family. Unfortunately, her dad died from cancer, but he had been helped for many years by members of their community bringing food to them.”
After receiving kindness and support from others, Cunin’s wife Doba, and Doba’s mother, decided it was time to give back. Thus, Kitchen of Kindness was created last June and has been picking up the pace ever since.
A major avenue to their funding is through selling homemade challah bread and pastries at the Incline Village Farmers Market which is scheduled to open this summer on Thursday, May 21.
“It’s been amazing,” said Cunin. “We just popped up at the Incline Village Farmers Market and we sold out every week. What’s really cool is that some of the bread is being sold, but the money from that bread sold is going to fund the rest of it getting delivered that week to family members of people in the hospital, people in need, or a new mom with a baby.”
Cunin delivers the food himself, along with other program volunteers, and their goal for distribution is to get the fresh food out as quickly as possible.
While serving a wide range of Northern Nevada, including Lake Tahoe, Cunin wants to continue to grow Kitchen of Kindness. Already, the community kitchen offers assistance in family events, team building, birthday parties, and ways to prevent food waste. They even provide hot meals and companionship as part of their senior engagement, and partner with larger nonprofits such as Eddy House Youth Homeless Shelter in Reno.
“Our dream would be to up the scale of the amount of events we do, the amount of volunteers, and the amount of people we can help,” said Cunin who notes that although they are borrowing a local kosher kitchen space through a jewish school and synagogue, his vision is to have a dedicated space to be used full-time.
As Kitchen of Kindness’s mission unfolds, Cunin says the Torah’s teachings of anonymous, selfless charity is a key factor in its importance, where the giver feels no arrogance and the receiver feels no embarrassment.
“There’s so many that want to give and be generous, and may not have a ton of money to give away, but they have time,” said Cunin. “Time itself is such a value and this is such a great opportunity for people that have time and can partner together with us and use their time and turn it into giving.”
Stop by their bake sale booth at Incline Village Farmers Market this summer for an oppertunity to support their cause.
To learn more about Kitchen of Kindness or Chabad Cares Nevada, as well as ways to get involved, visit https://www.chabadcaresnevada.com/kitchen.
