Kids Cafe is a nutrition and self-esteem program for high risk and homeless youth living in St. Louis Park. Program operates 5 days a week and serves over 55 elementary aged children each day. The program provides mentoring and education around nutrition, as well as teaching the children key team building, leadership and hygiene skills. Kids Cafe served approximately 10,600 meals in 2005.

This exciting program has a full time chef that works with the children and guides and teaches them as they prepare, serve, and clean up a nightly dinner.

The new restaurant-style Kids Cafe kitchen, designed as a child-friendly space, was completed in September 1998. The program targets St. Louis Park children, including our Transitional Housing Program kids whose parents are struggling to make ends meet. Kids come to this daily after-school program throughout the school year. The program provides academic enrichment as well as the kitchen experience, utilizing volunteers as mentors to the children.

The Kids Cafe program serves children a well-balanced home-style evening meal. The program seeks to mentor basic socialization skills, responsibility, contribution, sharing, positive companionship, and healthy decision-making. A uniqueness to the program is that children work together to prepare the meal, set the table and then help clean up afterwards.

Second Harvest, a national network of food banks, started Kids Cafe in 1993 and now feed children in many of the major metropolitan areas all over the country. Kids Cafe is primarily funded through donations from Foundations and Corporations. SuperTarget is the major corporate sponsor of this program.

Below are the updated Guidelines for Kids Cafe

KID'S CAFE

GUIDELINES

UPDATED September 24, 2013

Days: 

Third Tuesday of each Month

September - May (follow school schedule)

1st Wednesday in June is the Graduation Picnic

1. It is the responsibility of the Volunteer Chefs to procure meal items on their own to prepare their planned menu. 

2. Keep all receipts as Chef Dan will give you an in-kind donation form to fill out. This is necessary so Chef Dan and Kids Cafe can continue to get funding they need to operate.

3. Contact Chef Dan at 952-926-2600 ext 18 or at chefdan@perspectives-family.org with your planned menu at least 7-10 days prior to your day. This is to insure the kids are getting a nutritional meal by the federal guidelines he has to follow. Leave a message if he is not in, he will return your call.

CRITERIA

** Arrive at 3 pm, finish around 6-7 pm, depends on what is happening that day.

** Prepare a meal for approx 65-75 ppl

** Meal time is at 5:30 pm sharp

** You are dealing with kids from ages 5-12. Be ready for anything and everything. The kids are willing to learn and teach them accordingly.

** Ethnic and Holiday meals are encouraged but not necessary. Its the call of the Chefs on what they would like to prepare for their meal(s).

** NO PORK RULE- there are some kids and families that follow this rule very well. Please adhere to their wishes. We want everyone involved, to enjoy their meal(s) with each other. Thanks in advance for following this rule.

Contacts

If for any reason that you are unable to do your day you volunteered and signed up for please contact me immediately either by phone or email at Chef Keith A. Huffman 612-998-9858 or chefscreations@comcast.net .

As in the past I will do my best to find a replacement but PLEASE DO NOT wait until the day prior to said date you signed up for.

Thank you all for your continued support of Kids Cafe over the past 16 years!

Kids Cafe is located at 3381 Gorham Ave, St Louis Park, MN 55426

Schedule