Emma’s Torch and the Children’s Village open training kitchen at new Inwood rental

Image courtesy of Emma’s Torch

Emma’s Torch, a Brooklyn-based non-profit that provides refugees with culinary training, on Tuesday announced a new partnership with the organization Children’s Village. A new training site will open at The Eliza, a new affordable housing development and public library in Inwood, in collaboration with Children’s Village. This new facility will expand services and outreach for both organizations, better connecting refugees, asylees, and survivors of human trafficking to career opportunities in the culinary industry.

“This partnership with Children’s Village is a pivotal moment for Emma’s Torch. By opening this new site, we will be able to meet this moment of incredible need in our communities and provide services to a new group of new Americans. We are thrilled to be part of The Eliza’s vision for community growth and empowerment,” Kerry Brodie, executive director of Emma’s Torch, said.

The new Emma’s Torch location will follow the same culinary training curriculum as its three other sites, two in Brooklyn and one in Washington, D.C. This facility will focus primarily on the organization’s catering services and consumer packaged goods operations, enabling them to serve more than 150 additional students per year.

“At The Children’s Village, we are deeply committed to empowering youth and families and fostering their potential,” Jamie Marley, chair of the Board of Trustees at the Children’s Village, said.

“Bringing the expertise and passion of Emma’s Torch to this beautiful location and our new teaching kitchen aligns perfectly with our passion to provide transformative opportunities that move people into success and independence.”

The Eliza. Photo courtesy of Molly Stromoski

Co-developed by the Children’s Village, CLOTH, Ranger Properties, and the Housing Workshop, the Eliza will serve as a hub for public growth. The 14-story rental building opened in June with 174 deeply affordable apartments atop a two-level New York Public Library branch.

The building also features a pre-K space, STEM learning center, and performance space, in addition to the teaching kitchen.

Emma Torch’s new facility at the Eliza is slated to start operations in the coming weeks.

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