Over $262,000 Granted Through Emeril Lagasse Foundation’s Spring 2025 Grant Cycle - Emeril.org - Emeril.org Over $262,000 Granted Through Emeril Lagasse Foundation’s Spring 2025 Grant Cycle - Emeril.org

Over $262,000 Granted Through Emeril Lagasse Foundation’s Spring 2025 Grant Cycle

Empowering Youth Through Food Access, Culinary Education, and Community Wellness

Emeril Lagasse Foundation is proud to announce that over $262,000 in community grants have been awarded during our Spring 2025 grant cycle. Beneficiaries include Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana, Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation, Reconcile New Orleans, Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center, Green Our Planet, Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, and The Ecology Center. The nonprofit organizations selected are driving meaningful change in the lives of young people through initiatives centered on food access, culinary and workforce development, environmental education, and child advocacy.

 

Second Harvest Food Bank serves 280,000 individuals annually across 23 parishes in South Louisiana through programs focused on food access, education, advocacy, and disaster relief. As food insecurity rises, Second Harvest has become a critical source of nutrition for families facing financial strain. Grant funds from Emeril Lagasse Foundation will support the Summer Feeding and Kids Café Programs, which will provide 350,000 nutritious meals and snacks to 7,500 children during the summer and after school.

Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF) prepares students for careers in the restaurant and hospitality industry through education, workforce development, and mentorship. Its flagship ProStart® program serves over 2,300 high school students in 65 schools across Louisiana, building both technical culinary and essential life skills. Grant funds from Emeril Lagasse Foundation will help LRAEF achieve full certification for all ProStart teachers, expand programming into new schools, host student Culinary Nights, and increase credentialing opportunities.

Reconcile New Orleans has served more than 2,000 young adults since its founding over 20 years ago. The organization empowers youth through a comprehensive model that integrates workforce training, trauma-informed care, and wraparound support services. Reconcile’s restaurant and training lab, Café Reconcile, remains a beloved New Orleans institution. Grant funds from Emeril Lagasse Foundation will support Café Reconcile’s 16-month post-program support model, which includes monthly check-ins, career workshops, alumni mentorship, and access to job and educational resources. The goal is to help 180 recent graduates sustain progress in employment, education, and life stability as they transition into adulthood.

Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center (ECCAC) provides critical services to child abuse victims and their families in Okaloosa and Walton Counties, Florida. Since 2000, it has served over 25,000 children and launched prevention programs that have reached more than 100,000 students. Grant funds from Emeril Lagasse Foundation will support both ECCAC’s advocacy and prevention programs to identify the basic needs of children served and to aid in meeting those needs. These services provide child abuse prevention curriculum and allow ECCAC staff to identify and address urgent needs such as food insecurity during initial case assessments.

Green Our Planet has built one of the largest STEM-based garden and hydroponics education programs in the U.S., reaching over 1,000 schools and 500,000 students. The organization connects youth to gardening, sustainability, and entrepreneurship through hands-on learning. Grant funds from Emeril Lagasse Foundation will support two key installations at Green Our Planet’s new East Las Vegas headquarters, Compassionate Gardens. This includes four raised garden beds that will serve as hands-on growing spaces for students and families. The Compassionate Gardens campus will be a hub for food security, environmental education, and community engagement.

Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, Mississippi’s first children’s museum, has inspired creativity and learning in children across the Mississippi Gulf Coast through STEAM programs, arts instruction, and cultural experiences. The museum serves many economically disadvantaged families and offers accessible programs such as Free Friday Nights and Sensory Sundays. Grant funds from Emeril Lagasse Foundation will support enhancements to the museum’s culinary arts program and expansion of summer culinary camps, enabling the organization to teach more youth about healthy cooking and nutrition.

The Ecology Center, located in San Juan Capistrano, California, operates a regenerative organic farm offering hands-on environmental and food education. The Ecology Center empowers underserved families through education in sustainable practices and farm-based learning. Grant funds from the Emeril Lagasse Foundation—awarded through the Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund, a program of the Foundation—will support The Ecology Center’s Seed to Plate field trip program. Over three farm visits, 3rd–5th grade students will learn about biodiversity, nutrition, and soil health while harvesting fresh produce to take home.

 

About Emeril Lagasse Foundation: Founded in 2002 by Chef Emeril Lagasse and his wife Alden, Emeril Lagasse Foundation is a 501c(3) public charity headquartered in New Orleans. The Foundation’s mission is to create opportunities to inspire, mentor, and enable youth to reach their full potential through culinary, nutrition, and arts education with a focus on life skills development. Since its inception, Emeril Lagasse Foundation has granted more than $22 million to children’s charities to support culinary, nutrition, and arts programs. The Foundation accomplishes this through three programs. The Community Grants program provides programmatic and capital support to nonprofit organizations across the nation. The signature program, Emeril’s Culinary Garden & Teaching Kitchen, is a national education initiative created to enrich the lives of elementary and middle school children through a fun, fresh perspective on food. The Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund, the newest program, provides culinary arts education and human services programming for Latino youth. To learn more about the foundation and its beneficiaries, visit Emeril.org or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram.