D-BACKS GIVE BACK $100,000 TO LOCAL NON-PROFIT “KITCHEN ON THE STREET”
The first of five Grand Slam Awards to be highlighted at tomorrow’s Subway D-backs FanFest

PHOENIX – The Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation announced today the first of five Grand Slam Awards that will be given to local Arizona non-profit organizations in the coming months. Kitchen on the Street, which fights hunger among children in Phoenix, received a $100,000 grant from the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation, which will be used to purchase and create a mobile kitchen.

Kitchen on the Street will be on hand tomorrow (February 11, 2012) at the Subway D-backs FanFest at Chase Field, where fans will have the opportunity to volunteer for the organization.

“We are so appreciative of the efforts of Kitchen on the Street in helping to fight hunger here in Arizona,” said Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall. “The work that they do each and every day made them a very deserving recipient of our Grand Slam award and we’re very proud to assist in their efforts.”

Founded in 2007, Kitchen on the Street partners with Arizona schools to provide Bags of Hope (backpacks of food) to children struggling with food insecurity. The program serves more than 900 children each weekend and has expanded to include services such as assisting partner schools in establishing and maintaining clothing closets on campus and hosting monthly fresh food distributions.

“We are honored to partner with the Diamondbacks in this mission to turn hunger into hope,” said Kitchen on the Street CEO & Co-Founder Lisa Scarpinato. “The mobile kitchen is a game-changer for Kitchen on the Street and the hungry of our community. It proves how committed the D-backs are to improving the community.”

At the annual Subway D-backs FanFest tomorrow, approximately 2,000 Bags of Hope will be packed by volunteers from Kitchen on the Street and Diamondbacks fans on hand at Chase Field. The free event takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes opportunities to receive autographs from D-backs players, take a tour of the clubhouse and much more.

The $100,000 donated by the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation to Kitchen on the Street will be used to purchase an actual “Kitchen on the Street” that will travel around the city bringing nutritional knowledge and food to the hungry. It will be an active part of the culinary community and any proceeds generated from the mobile kitchen will fund Bags of Hope for hungry Arizona children.

Next month, the D-backs and the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation will surpass $30 million in combined donations since their inception in 1998. The organization focuses its charitable efforts in three main areas – homelessness, indigent health care and youth programs of all kinds.

In Arizona, 20.2% of children under the age of 18 are food insecure, the fifth-highest rate in the country according to the Association of Arizona Food Banks. Children who are part of backpack programs such as Kitchen on the Street have increased school test score performance by as much as 23% in math and 30% in reading.

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Turning Hunger into Hope, One Child at a Time: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

A valley charity helps feed hundreds of children who take part in school breakfast and lunch programs, but would go hungry on the weekends without bags of hope.

Sept. 21: Self magazine’s editor-in-chief Lucy Danziger introduces TODAY’s Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb to the winners of the Women Doing Good awards, who are each making a difference in their communities:

Self Magazine, September 2010

Kitchen on the Street CEO Lisa Scarpinato is the winner of one of SELF Magazine’s ‘Women Doing Good’ Awards. Read the article.

Volunteers from non-profit Kitchen on the Street try to keep children from going hungry during the summer. Read the article.

Kitchen on the Street to feed 1,000 today – More than 70 volunteers working at Palomino Elementary and Intermediate schools. Read the article.

Kitchen on the Street the recipient of a Channel 8 “Be More” Award

Winners of Eight’s annual Be More Awards™ were announced Thursday, May 7, 2009 at the Camelback Inn, according to Eight’s General Manager Kelly McCullough. Nearly 300 guests attended the event honoring the outstanding achievements of Arizona’s nonprofit organizations. Categories ranged from outstanding marketing initiatives, exceptional educational outreach, innovative organization endeavors, extraordinary fundraising and event efforts, and commitment to arts and cultural awareness. Dr. Robert F. Ashcraft, founding director of the Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation at Arizona State University, delivered the keynote address.

The Be More Awards™ ceremony airs June 24, 2009, at 7:30 PM on Channel 8 in Phoenix.

Hike for Hunger to benefit kids

A northeast Phoenix non-profit that focuses on providing food to children in need is hosting its annual fundraiser in an effort to raise $10,000. Kitchen on the Street Inc. will sponsor the Hike for Hunger Saturday at North Mountain Park, Seventh Street and Peoria Avenue.

Read the full article.

A Hunger to Help

As a result, the school becomes their primary source of food and nutrition.

“When school is not in session, many of the children miss meals,” Scarpinato explains. “Kitchen on the Street provides these children with Bags of Hope. Filled with prepared main meals, granola bars, and other pre-packaged food, they prevent children from going hungry.”

Read the full article. (PDF)

Kitchen on the Street steps up

After serving food at local shelters, Vincent and Lisa Scarpinato would see more people on the street who didn’t make it to the shelter.

Read the full article.