Fresh Start Family Kitchen

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Executive Summary

Fresh Start Family Kitchen is a nonprofit in New Jersey that teaches families to cook and eat well on a budget. In six-week classes at a community kitchen, adults and children cook a meal together, eat at a shared table and take home a bag of groceries for the week. Instructors are chefs and community educators, and every class includes simple food safety, shopping on a budget and how to read a food label.

Many families want to cook at home but feel they do not have the time, skill or money. Convenience food is easy to buy and hard to avoid, and fresh food can feel risky if it spoils. Learning a few simple, low-cost recipes, using the same ingredients in different ways and shopping with a list can make a real difference. Cooking together also builds confidence and family time.

With this grant we will run about 24 six-week series in Year 1 with about 15 participants in each, or about 360 people. Each class costs about $14 in food per person, including groceries to take home. We teach cooking, food safety and budgeting. We do not give medical nutrition advice, and we do not promise any health result.

Our Year 1 budget is about $197,000, growing to about $234,000 by Year 5 as we add classes. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus each year. We have 3 paid staff in Year 1 and 4 by Year 3, supported by volunteers.

We are asking the Riverbend Family Foundation for $66,000 for our Program Director and for food for the classes. The health system, the county extension office, donors and sponsors also give, so this grant is one part of a shared funding plan.

I am Gabriela Ruiz, the Executive Director. The numbers in this proposal are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end, not promises.

Company Description

Fresh Start Family Kitchen is a small, independent nonprofit in New Jersey, organized as a 501(c)(3) public charity. We serve families in our city and the towns around it who want to cook more at home.

Our mission. To help families cook and share good food together, whatever their budget.

What we believe. Cooking is a life skill, not a luxury. We start where families are, respect every food tradition and never shame anyone for what they eat. We keep recipes simple and affordable and show families how to use leftovers and shop sales. We keep food safe and ask about allergies on every sign-up form.

What we offer:
- Six-week family cooking series. Weekly two-hour classes where participants cook, eat together and take home groceries.
- Shopping and budget lessons. Short lessons on planning meals, reading labels and comparing prices.
- Kids' kitchen. Age-appropriate cooking for children, with an adult beside them.
- Recipe cards and videos. Simple recipes in English and Spanish, with a picture of each step.

Who we serve. Families with children, older adults who cook alone, new immigrants and anyone who wants to learn.

What we do not do. We do not provide medical nutrition therapy, diagnose conditions, promise weight or health results or run classes without a food safety plan. We refer people with medical dietary needs to a registered dietitian.

How we are run. A volunteer board of seven governs the organization. I am the Executive Director. The Program Director and Chef Educator leads classes and manages food and partners. A part-time class assistant supports classes, and a second joins in Year 3.

Where things stand today. We have letters of support from a hospital health system, the county extension office, two churches and a community center, a kitchen rental agreement, quotes for portable cooking equipment and a food safety plan and participant waiver under review by an attorney. (Replace this with where you really are.)

Problem & Opportunity

Families face many barriers to cooking at home. Long work hours leave little time. Grocery prices are high, and fresh food can spoil before it is used. Some adults never learned to cook, and some are cooking for the first time for a child or an older parent. Without basic skills, even a full pantry may not turn into a meal.

Food assistance helps families get groceries, but it does not teach them how to turn a bag of beans, vegetables and rice into dinner. Online recipes assume equipment and ingredients that many families do not have.

Community kitchens and classes are rare, and many cost more than a family can pay. Families with young children need child care to attend.

For a small nonprofit, the hard parts are paying for food, finding a safe kitchen, hiring instructors who can teach adults and children and following up so that skills last.

We want to be clear about what we know and do not know. Cooking classes are a well-liked way to build skills and confidence, and we will use the most recent local numbers on household food costs and diet-related needs in our final plan. We do not promise any health result. We do not know exactly how many families will finish a series, so our plan uses a first-year goal and will report what really happens.

Products & Services

Fresh Start Family Kitchen will teach families to cook with confidence in a friendly, hands-on setting.

How it works, step by step:
1. Sign up. Families sign up online or by phone and tell us about allergies, dietary needs and language.
2. Welcome. The first class begins with introductions, a kitchen safety talk and hand washing.
3. Cook together. Participants work in small groups to cook a simple meal using fresh, low-cost ingredients, with an instructor at every station.
4. Learn a skill. Each class teaches one skill, such as using a knife safely, making a pan sauce or cooking beans from dry.
5. Eat together. The group sits and eats what they cooked, and children and adults talk about the food.
6. Take it home. Each family takes home a bag of groceries and a recipe card for the week.
7. Budget lesson. Short lessons teach meal planning, unit prices and what to buy in season.
8. Graduate. After six weeks, families receive a certificate, a basic kitchen starter set when funds allow and an invitation to a monthly alumni night.

Why this approach is strong. People learn to cook by cooking. A shared meal and groceries to take home help skills stick and bring the family along.

Market Analysis

Who we serve: families with children, older adults, new immigrants and others in our city and the towns around it who want to learn to cook.

Our primary group is households with limited income who use food assistance or have limited time to cook. Our secondary group is any family or individual who wants to learn. We will use the most recent local numbers on household food costs, food assistance and cooking skills in our final plan.

How we sized our plan. We plan about 24 six-week series in Year 1 with about 15 participants in each, or about 360 people. We grow to about 28 series in Year 2, 34 in Year 3 with a second class assistant, 38 in Year 4 and about 40 series in Year 5. Our Year 1 budget is about $197,000 and our Year 5 budget is about $234,000.

Demand data. Letters of support from a hospital health system, the county extension office, two churches and a community center, and waiting lists from a pilot class, show a clear need. We do not count on any one partner.

We do not serve everyone. We refer people who need medical dietary care to a registered dietitian, and we refer families who need food right away to a food pantry.

Competitive Landscape

Other choices for families, and what makes us different.

- Cooking classes at stores and restaurants. They are fun but can be costly. We charge nothing and send groceries home.
- Cooperative extension and health department classes. Some exist. We coordinate with them and offer more hands-on, family-focused classes.
- Online videos and meal kits. They are convenient but costly or impersonal. We offer a teacher, a table and a community.
- School cooking classes. They reach students during the day. We include parents and caregivers.
- Learning from relatives. Many families do. We build on what they know and add new skills.
- Food pantries and meal programs. They provide food and meals. We add the skills to cook that food at home, and we work with them rather than against them.

What makes us different.
- Free classes with groceries to take home.
- Adults and children cook together.
- Simple recipes in English and Spanish.
- A focus on skills, safety and budgeting, not health claims.

What we do not claim. We are new. Larger programs have more kitchens and a longer record. We plan to earn trust one family at a time.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How we will reach the people we serve.

Partner organizations. We will work with the hospital health system, the county extension office, schools, churches, food pantries and community centers, who share flyers and refer families.

Food pantries and clinics. We will place a sign-up sheet at pantries and clinics and give staff a short script for inviting families.

Schools and child care. We will send a flyer home with children and offer a short demonstration at family nights.

Past participants. Every graduate is invited to the monthly alumni night and asked to bring a friend. Alumni can become volunteer helpers.

Online. A simple website, social media and a text sign-up line, in English and Spanish.

Referrals and partners. Pantries, clinics and teachers will each have a short script and a card to hand a family, so that an invitation feels warm and easy, and we will thank every partner with a short update on how many of their referrals joined a class.

Cost to the family. Free. We provide the groceries, the recipes and child care during class.

Class times. We will offer evening and weekend classes, and ask each series what time works best, so that working parents are not shut out.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (summer): Sign the kitchen rental agreement and partner agreements, buy equipment, finalize the curriculum and recipes and train assistants and volunteers.
- Month 3 (late summer): Open sign-ups and begin the first series.
- Months 4 to 11: Run about two series at a time at four sites, with a short break at the holidays, and hold a monthly alumni night.
- Month 12: Survey participants, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. Classes meet in a community kitchen at a church and a community center, rented for about $14,000 a year in Year 1, including supplies. Our small office is shared space in a community building.

Equipment. We buy about $12,000 of equipment once at the start: eight portable induction burners and cookware sets ($5,200), knives, cutting boards and small appliances ($2,600), rolling carts, storage and a portable handwashing station ($2,400) and a laptop, projector and screen ($1,800). Later years replace or add a few items.

Staffing. In Year 1, I serve as Executive Director. The Program Director and Chef Educator, paid $46,000 a year, leads classes. A part-time class assistant, paid $22,000 a year, supports classes, and a second joins in Year 3.

Food safety. We follow state and local food safety rules, train every instructor and volunteer in food handling, ask about allergies on every sign-up form, label ingredients and teach knife and hot surface safety. A first aid kit is in every kitchen and a written plan includes calling 911.

Quality and learning. After each series we ask participants what they liked, what was hard and what they cooked at home, and we change recipes, timing and teaching. Instructors meet monthly to share what works, and a volunteer observer visits each series once a year.

Costs. Food and groceries are about $30,000 in Year 1, recipe materials and child care about $6,000, outreach and evaluation about $5,000 and administration and insurance about $10,000.

Management & Organization

The people who will carry out the project.

Gabriela Ruiz, Executive Director. Twelve years of nonprofit work, including seven years running a community nutrition and gardening program. She oversees the program, partnerships, fundraising and finances. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Program Director and Chef Educator (from Year 1). Leads classes, writes recipes, manages food and trains assistants. A professional cook with years of experience teaching adults and children.

Class assistants (part-time, from Year 1). Help in the kitchen, manage child care and clean up. A second joins in Year 3.

Volunteers. About 20 volunteers, including graduates, nursing students and retired cooks.

Board and advisors. Seven volunteer board members, including a registered dietitian, a food pantry director and a parent who is a past participant, who meet every quarter. An attorney reviews our waivers and food safety plan.

Staff pay in this plan is a full year per person: Executive Director $54,000, Program Director and Chef Educator $46,000 and part-time class assistant $22,000. Replace them with the pay you can offer where you live.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals for each year and how we will measure them.

- Year 1: Run about 24 six-week series at four sites for about 360 people and open a monthly alumni night. A balanced budget of about $197,000, with a small surplus of about $7,600. About 3 paid staff.
- Year 2: Run about 28 series and add a children's kitchen club. A balanced budget of about $200,000, with a small surplus of about $7,000. About 3 paid staff.
- Year 3: Add a second class assistant and run about 34 series. A balanced budget of about $226,500, with a small surplus of about $7,800. About 4 paid staff.
- Year 4: Run about 38 series and start a train-the-trainer program for volunteers. A balanced budget of about $230,000, with a small surplus of about $7,200. About 4 paid staff.
- Year 5: Run about 40 series and share our recipes and curriculum with other community kitchens. A balanced budget of about $234,000, with a small surplus of about $7,100. About 4 paid staff.

What we measure:
- Series held and participants who finished at least four of six classes.
- Participants who say they cook more at home.
- Recipes participants cooked again at home.
- Pounds of food sent home.
- Participant and partner feedback.
- Cost per participant.

How we review results. The Program Director reviews attendance after every series. Twice a year, staff and the board review all results and share them with funders and partners. If a site has low attendance, we change the time, the child care or the recruiting. Every number in this plan is a goal, and we will report what really happens.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $66,000 from the Riverbend Family Foundation for a Program Director and food for cooking classes, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Program Director and Chef Educator salary, $46,000.
- Supplies: Food and groceries for classes and take-home bags, $20,000 (other funds add $6,000).

Other money in the program. This request is about 45% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $197,000, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $7,600 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: grants $147,000 (this request plus other grants we are applying for), health system and extension partner support $24,000, individual donors and sponsors $26,000. Year 1 costs: executive director $54,000; program director and chef educator $46,000; class assistant $22,000; food and groceries for classes and take-home bags about $30,000; kitchen rental and supplies about $14,000; recipe materials and child care about $6,000; outreach and evaluation about $5,000; administration and insurance about $10,000; about $3,800 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $18,500 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $5,200 for eight portable induction burners and cookware sets; $2,600 for knives, cutting boards and small appliances; $2,400 for rolling carts, storage and a portable handwashing station; $1,800 for laptop, projector and screen; $1,800 for opening supply of spices, oils and pantry staples; $2,200 for attorney review of the kitchen agreement and food safety plan; $1,400 for banners, recipe cards and a simple website; $1,100 for food handler certificates and first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($18,500), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $46,800, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. The cash used before it balances and the cushion come to about $46,800. In all, that comes to $65,500. We start with $12,000 of our own savings and $56,000 in startup support from a local family foundation and our board, $68,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $197,000 in Year 1 to about $234,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $147,000, $142,000, $158,500, $152,000 and $148,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: health system and extension partner support from $24,000 to $44,000 and individual donors and sponsors from $26,000 to $42,000. We add a second class assistant in Year 3 and more series as the program grows. Grants fall from about 75% of our income in Year 1 to about 63% in Year 5.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $60,100, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $5,910 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

After the grant. The health system, the extension office, businesses and individual donors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share of our budget. Graduates share their stories, and sponsors can underwrite a series by name.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- A food safety problem. We follow a written plan, train staff and volunteers and keep records.
- Low attendance. We offer child care, evening classes and reminders and ask participants what works.
- Food prices rise. We buy in bulk, plan seasonal menus and keep a reserve.
- A kitchen becomes unavailable. We keep agreements with more than one site.
- A grant ends. We keep savings and grow partner and donor support each year.

If you are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status through a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that receives grants for you and passes them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Another way is to start smaller: one kitchen, one class a week and volunteer instructors, tracked carefully. Strong results from a small start make larger grants easier to win.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach with this proposal:

- Your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current year budget.
- A list of your board members and what each one does.
- Signed letters of support from the health system, extension office and partner sites.
- Your kitchen rental agreement.
- Your participant waiver and allergy form in English and Spanish.
- Your food safety plan.
- Your curriculum and sample recipes.
- Quotes for the portable kitchen equipment.
- Resumes for your Executive Director and key staff.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Grant Revenue: $147,000 in Year 1, then $142,000, $158,500, $152,000 and $148,000.
- Health System and Extension Partner Support: $24,000 in Year 1, growing to $44,000.
- Individual Donors and Sponsors: $26,000 in Year 1, growing to $42,000.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive director $54,000, program director and chef educator $46,000, class assistant (part-time) $22,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: food and groceries for classes and take-home bags $30,000, kitchen rental and supplies $14,000, recipe materials and child care $6,000, outreach and evaluation $5,000, administration and insurance $10,000. These grow between 4% and 6% a year.
- Equipment: $12,000 at the start, then $1,500 to $2,500 a year.
- Startup costs: $18,500, paid once from $68,000 in startup money.
- Participants: about 360 in Year 1, growing to about 600 in Year 5. Food costs about $14 per person per class, including groceries to take home.
- About 3% of each year's income is still owed to us at year end.
- Tax: none, as a nonprofit.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and real budget.

Startup Costs