Good Neighbor to remodel, expand kitchen

Flattening partitions, increasing, shopping for new ovens, microwaves and prep tables at the moment are within the works on the Good Neighbor Settlement Home after the non-profit acquired a grant of $175,000 via the Valley Baptist Legacy Basis that can assist with the enlargement and enchancment of their kitchen.

Hugo Zurita, govt director on the Good Neighbor Settlement Home, mentioned the grant was a lot wanted because the kitchen has by no means been transformed and doesn’t maintain sufficient house to have prep tables and different applianches reminiscent of ovens that may make it simpler to serve more healthy choices to the group.

“We approached them and utilized for it as a result of our meal program is the guts of our group, that’s what we’re recognized for offering breakfast, lunch and dinner for the group right here in Brownsville,” he mentioned.

“Our kitchen is fairly small, will not be the largest and isn’t fitted to us to have the ability to do larger meals and prepare dinner extra, so simply having one range that labored at the moment was actually tough for us to have the ability to feed so many people. Our numbers did double via our meal program throughout the pandemic, so we have been actually comfortable that we have been actually comfortable that we have been capable of get these funds.”

Zurita mentioned the plan is to have the ability to higher help the group with their wants. The remodelation will even embody an enlargement to the kitchen pantry, permitting the Good Neighbor to take extra donations and have them organized for quicker entry.

“The plan is to have the ability to higher help our group so we don’t have an oven, so now we’re capable of buy ovens to have the ability to bake stuff and make stuff just a little bit more healthy,” he mentioned. “We do breakfast, lunch and dinner so there’s occasions that whereas we’re doing breakfast we have now to arrange lunch and once we are doing lunch we have now to arrange dinner, we actually don’t have the house.”

Zurita added that the settlement home additionally acquired assist from Valley Day and Night time Clinic and raised over $11,000 throughout Giving Tuesday this yr, funds which can be getting used for the kitchen renovation. Good Neighbor serves roughly 500 residents weekly.

“We’re right here to assist, we don’t ask why you’re getting the companies, we’re Good Neighbor so we attempt to be a great neighbor to the group and that’s what we’re and we’re right here to help anyone that wants our help,” he mentioned.