NoVA Culinary Training Nonprofit Receives $80K Grant From Bank Of America

ARLINGTON, VA — The Kitchen of Purpose, a bilingual culinary training program, received an $80,000 grant from Bank of America to help the Arlington nonprofit address food insecurity and help immigrants in the Washington, D.C., area, who are interested in a career in food service.

Larry Di Rita, president of Bank of America Greater Washington, presented Patricia Funegra, founder and CEO of Kitchen of Purpose, with the grant in December. The $80,000 grant was part of Bank of America's efforts to improve both community and employee health in the D.C. area.

Formerly known as La Cocina VA, Kitchen of Purpose operates a job-training program for refugees, immigrants and unhoused people in the D.C. area. The group donates meals made from these training programs to low-income housing facilities and homeless shelters in the area.

Since it was founded in 2014, the organization has provided more than 45,000 meals and trained more than 200 kitchen employees on full scholarships that cover educational materials, credentials and uniforms and more.

Bank of America has financially supported Kitchen of Purpose for the past five years. The latest $80,000 grant, the largest from the financial institution to the nonprofit, will be used to support Kitchen of Purpose’s culinary program and its food assistance program, according to Funegra.

In 2014, Funegra left her job at the Inter-American Development Bank to start La Cocina VA as a way to address hunger and job-training issues for recent immigrants in the D.C. area.

When she founded La Cocina VA, the organization was housed in the basement of a church on Glebe Road in Arlington, with an annual budget of $500,000. In the summer of 2020, the organization moved into a new 5,000-square-foot space on Columbia Pike, with amenities that include a training kitchen and a café. Today, the nonprofit's annual budget has grown to $1.6 million.

In November, La Cocina VA officially rebranded as Kitchen of Purpose. “We were seen as a nonprofit that only offers to the Hispanic community and Spanish speakers,” Funegra said in an interview with Patch. “It wasn’t really accurate. But the name created that perception. So, we decided to change it to Kitchen of Purpose because it’s more inviting and more inclusive.”

Kitchen of Purpose’s culinary training program is open to members of the community who are unemployed and are interested in a career in food service. The program, certified by Northern Virginia Community College, offers training at the Columbia Pike facility.

Clients receive training in cooking skills and English instruction as well as credentials from the National Restaurant Association. After completing the program, clients are placed in internships that are paid by hotels, restaurants and catering companies in the D.C. area.

As part of its mission to fight food insecurity, meals made at the Columbia Pike facility’s kitchen are provided to people who live in affordable housing units and shelters, as well as schools in Arlington and Fairfax counties.

READ ALSO: Bank Of America Donates $150K To Capital Area Food Bank

The $80,000 grant came from a Bank of America pledge to donate $50 to local hunger relief organizations for each employee who received a coronavirus vaccine or booster or a flu vaccine by Nov. 23, 2022.

The campaign raised a total of $8 million for hunger support across the country. Earlier this year, Bank of America donated over $10 million to hunger relief organizations, with more than $2 million going to the Capital Area Food Bank.

Kitchen of Purpose also operates a small business incubator that includes a nine-week training program to help people to acquire the knowledge needed to launch a food-based business. The small business incubator also provides support to people who are ready to start renting kitchen space but need support developing the internal operations of the business.

One of Funegra's top goals for Kitchen of Purpose is to create a fund that will provide seed money— such as $5,000 or $10,000 — to entrepreneurs who may not have savings or access to credit to allow them to start a successful small business.

"Moving into the community development financial institution space would be something I'd love to explore in addition to exploring replicating the Kitchen of Purpose in other cities," she said.

In the short term, Funegra said Kitchen of Purpose is planning to relaunch its café on Columbia Pike later this year, with a new menu and expanded outdoor seating when the weather turns warmer.