The kitchen is a chaotic place. Picture this: a room full of nearly 20 teens. Each one is carrying out their job, whether that be working on a recipe that calls for 20 heads of cabbage to be chopped and shredded, scooping large containers of food into 60 trays to be then sealed, dated, and all repeated six more times, or being on cleaning duty, which in itself opens up a whole world of tasks. While you maneuver through the aisles of tables full of chopping, mixing, scooping, and tossing, you’re greeted with the sounds of “behind!”, “sharp!” and the cautionary “hot walking!” Additionally, the pressure is on, as 450 healthy meals need to be cooked and packaged each day to reach the hands of our community’s most vulnerable, those with chronic illnesses, and a panic flows through the room when suddenly a pan of rice falls or the wrong dish is paired with the wrong side. Welcome to Teen Kitchen Project (TKP), the place of hard work and fulfillment.
Running a kitchen full of ever-learning teenagers is no easy feat, and yet, Alexis Keith, TKP’s kitchen manager, takes the lead with grace. “If I had to pick one word to describe this job well,” Keith wrote, “I’d say being adaptable … since we work with kids, there’s always a chance that something will get burned, spilled, or made wrong. In those cases, it’s really important to focus on solutions rather than the problem itself.”
Keith began her career after earning her bachelor’s degree in the science of nutrition, where she worked in long-term care facilities and hospitals as part of the food and nutrition services department. Her love of giving back to her community while also expanding her knowledge of nutrition to others attracted her to this line of work, but she faced many challenges as surrounding herself with those suffering from chronic illness took an emotional toll.
Learn more about local Santa Cruz unsung hero, Alexis Keith, who is the manager at Teen Kitchen Project, a local organization.
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