The ThriveOn Collaboration has recently chosen the Kinship Community Food Center, an entity that serves locals in the Riverwest and Harambee regions, to operate an exclusive café in the historical ThriveOn King building. This association will not only bring wholesome food choices to the vibrant community center, but the nonprofit partner will also pioneer a revolutionary workforce training program for locals struggling with employment hurdles.
This collaboration helps align to the areas the community has identified as top priorities- access to nutritious food and to job opportunities. As the ThriveOn Collaboration unites with Kinship to meet these goals, they prepare to fulfill their promise to Bronzeville area inhabitants.
ThriveOn King, situated in the heart of Milwaukee, is a landmark former department store that has been repurposed to serve the community, offering residential and commercial spaces. The ThriveOn Collaboration, led by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Medical College of Wisconsin, and Royal Capital, invests in the health, educational, social, and economic wellness of several Milwaukee neighborhoods.
Developing a more health-conscious community through access to nutritious food aligns with the principles of ThriveOn Collaboration, believing it to be an essential aspect of establishing a healthier society.
The involvement of Kinship, reputable for its integral and dynamic approach to addressing issues such as hunger, isolation, and poverty in Milwaukee, also brings culinary and training expertise to the table. Focused on the cornerstones of nutrition, community interaction, and economic stability, Kinship is redefining how we approach food systems and respective social supports.
The café at ThriveOn King introduces a new venture of interest consistent with Kinship’s mission – a food-based social initiative. The café is set to open later this year, serving breakfast and lunch from Monday to Friday. Offering a pleasant dining experience, this venue hopes to facilitate neighborhood residents’ growth and prosperity over hearty meals and good company.
Layered within the café’s operations is the established workforce training program by Kinship. This program promotes social cohesion and restoration while creating employment opportunities for individuals integrated within the system. This initiative encourages steady employment and economic progress by offering compensated work experience in culinary arts, urban agriculture, and hospitality while nurturing social connections and personal growth.
This initiative is a notable effort toward creating stable career opportunities and promoting personal healing. The ThriveOn Collaboration is allocating $350,000 in grants for two years to support the workforce training component of the ThriveOn King café, evidencing a long-term commitment to nurturing individual stability and employment.
The ThriveOn King café will leverage the kitchen as a classroom, meanwhile sharing its facilities with the MCW Teaching Kitchen, managed by Stuart Wong, the Professor of Medicine and Director of MCW Center for Disease Prevention Research. The establishment will offer culinary medicine programming to medical students, giving them a chance to understand how to incorporate lifestyle discussions into their routine meetings with patients and make healthier choices for themselves.
The ThriveOn King center will also house multiple community partners that serve the community, including JobsWork MKE, Versiti on King, and Malaika Early Learning Centre. Plans are set to expand the available community gathering and wellness spaces as the building opens completely to the public.
This initiative, an amalgamation of community minds and hearts, brings together several organizations under one roof, symbolizing the unity and constant endeavor to work towards nurturing, redefining, and enriching a community’s livelihood.
