How Emeril Lagasse Foundation Is Expanding Access to Opportunity

Opportunity can take many forms. It can begin in a garden, a classroom, or a community center. Through food, art, and hands-on learning, young people build confidence, develop new skills, and begin to see what’s possible for their future.

At Emeril Lagasse Foundation, we believe in the power of those moments—and in the organizations that help bring them to life every day. Together with our partners, we’re helping create spaces where young people can explore their interests, build confidence, and discover new paths.

Every organization approaches this work in its own way, but the goal is shared: to provide meaningful, hands-on experiences that support growth, resilience, and long-term success. By strengthening these efforts, we’re helping unlock potential and change lives.

Through our Community Grants program, we work alongside nonprofit partners to expand access to food and nutrition education, elevate youth development programs, and create environments where young people can thrive. Together, we’re shaping brighter futures.

How does the Community Grants Program work?

Our Community Grants Program is designed to strengthen and expand the work happening in communities every day. We engage with our beneficiaries to understand their programs, where they’re growing, and what they need to reach more young people.

That support may include funding to expand programs, enhance learning environments, or strengthen services like mentorship, job training, and food access – but it doesn’t stop there.

We work alongside our beneficiaries to help them grow – connecting them to a broader network, increasing visibility for their work, and creating opportunities that extend beyond a single grant. Through our events and community of supporters, we help elevate their efforts and open doors to new relationships and resources.

We also intentionally connect our beneficiaries to one another, creating space for shared learning, collaboration, and the exchange of ideas that help programs evolve and strengthen over time.

What does this look like in practice?

Nutrition, Culinary & Arts Education Programs

• New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), a beneficiary since 2006, developed a four-year high school culinary arts program for aspiring chefs—one of the first of its kind in the country.
• Sinfonia Gulf Coast is entertaining, educating, and inspiring the community through innovative musical programming and has impacted over 200,000 children through music education programs, including guest artists in schools and a 60-member youth orchestra.

Life Skills Development Programs

• Café Hope serves the youth of the Westbank of the New Orleans metro area, teaching job-readiness and hospitality skills that make a positive change in participants’ lives.
• Alaqua Animal Refuge, the Emerald Coast’s premier no-kill refuge, provides protection, shelter, and care to animals in need. Alaqua’s educational outreach and community programs promote personal growth in children with developmental needs.

Basic Needs Programs

• Covenant House is a 24/7 open-access youth shelter providing a full continuum of lifesaving supports and services to young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness or human trafficking, including those pregnant and parenting. Covenant House helps approximately 700 young people each year receive the care and support they deserve.
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana leads the movement to end hunger and build food security across South Louisiana through food access, advocacy, education, and disaster response. Second Harvest assists 280,000 individuals facing food insecurity annually.

Support through our Community Grants program allows each organization to strengthen its programs, reach more young people, and create lasting opportunities through arts, life skills, and food and nutrition education.

Why does access to hands-on learning matter?

For many young people, access to opportunities like food and nutrition education is not guaranteed — and nonprofit organizations working to change that often face the same challenge: finding ways to do more with limited resources. Our Community Grants program helps change that.

Since 2002, Emeril Lagasse Foundation has given over $23 million in grants to youth programming. By supporting organizations across the country, we are expanding access to learning environments that help:

• Connect food to healthy living while introducing students to the cultural traditions behind it
• Create pathways for mentorship and skill-building that support long-term success
• Provide consistent access to spaces where students feel supported, nourished, and ready to learn

These programs serve as hubs for youth mentorship and learning, where students are guided in life skill-building while developing confidence, communication, and a sense of belonging. As these programs grow, so does their reach. Through increased visibility, stronger networks, and expanded resources, organizations are able to serve more young people and deepen their impact within their communities.

How do I apply for a community grant?

Emeril Lagasse Foundation’s Community Grants program was designed for organizations creating opportunities through culinary, nutrition, and arts education, with a focus on life skills development.

While grant applications are by invitation only, we welcome the opportunity to learn more about organizations doing this work. If your mission aligns and you are serving youth in one of our geographic focus areas, you’re encouraged to share a brief concept paper outlining your organization and the impact you hope to make.

Submissions can be sent to [email protected]. To learn more about eligibility and explore the program in greater detail, visit the How to Apply page.

Growing Together, One Recipe at a Time

At Emeril Lagasse Foundation, we know we can do more when we work together. Through Emeril’s Culinary Garden & Teaching Kitchen, Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund, and our Community Grants Program, we help young people gain skills, confidence, and a deeper connection to their health and community.