Youth-led Broth Service with Our Place & Project Hope

New Service Learning Opportunity:

Project Hope Spokane, dba River City Youth Ops, is happy to share that as we expand to year-round operations, we are starting a broth service with our program partner, Our Place Community Outreach Center on Wednesday, February 14, 2024. Our Place is a no-barrier food and resource bank located in the West Central neighborhood. With support from the amazing farmers and ranchers in our region, we will be facilitating a broth service with our youth team.

WhaT:

This will be a 2-part activity.

  1. Making broth: Youth will learn how to make bone broth and mushroom-based vegetarian broth on Saturday, February 10.

  2. Sharing broth: Youth will share broth with community members during Our Place’s Wednesday evening food distribution on Valentine’s Day.

Who:

Past participants and youth 12 years of age and older are invited to join us!

Note: Do you want a current food worker permit but don’t have one yet? No problem! Visit https://www.foodworkercard.wa.gov/ to take the food safety course and get certified. The permit costs $10. Show us your receipt and permit and we’ll reimburse you for the cost of your permit.

Why:

We are excited to introduce this activity. Our intentions for this service learning opportunity are to:

  • Allow youth to strengthen their food handling and community service skills

  • Provide community members with a warm, nourishing cup of meat or vegetable broth

  • Share heart health resources for Valentine’s Day

  • Share resources to reduce food waste through broth-making

When:

This opportunity will take place on 2 different days:

  • Saturday, February 10: 10 am - 2 pm

  • Wednesday, February 14: 3 - 7 pm

Where:

  • Saturday, February 10: Salem Lutheran Church (428 W Broadway Ave, Spokane, WA 99201)

  • Wednesday, February 14: Our Place Community Outreach (1509 W College Avenue)

Partners:

Thank you to all of the wonderful partners in our network for helping make this possible:

Special thanks to Salem Lutheran Church for sharing their kitchen space with us for this activity!

We hope you’ll join us!

Youth are invited to attend one or both days of this service learning opportunity and are encouraged to learn more and RSVP at this link.

If you have questions about this activity, please email Kaela Loriz.

Happy New Year from RCYO!

Happy New Year from Project Hope / River City Youth Ops! We wish a year filled with health, happiness, and community to all in our network!

2024 Updates & Reminders

On the solstice, we announced our decision to move out of our previous space at the West Central Abbey and find a location that meets the shifting needs of our growing community and programs. We are looking for community input on spaces that meet the following criteria:

  • Kitchen space

  • Growing space(s), either in-ground or suitable for raised beds

  • Meeting space(s) that are safe and appropriate for youth

  • Storage space for produce, ingredients, and supplies

  • Secular (non-religious) space

  • Near a bus stop and in the West Central neighborhood

Your Input Matters to Us

Have ideas about where you’d like to see us grow next? Please let us know! We are committed to finding new locations that work for our community. Please share your ideas using this form.

Before & After: Cleaning out and saying farewell to our old office…

Project Hope Awarded $35k Grant for 2024 Programs

We are happy to thank the Innovia Foundation - Ballmer Group and Northeast Community Center for awarding our organization $35,000. This grant will support our growth to year-round programming in 2024 as we expand our gleaning and food access efforts, connect youth to seed cycles, and create spaces for youth to be active participants in Spokane’s food system.

Solstice Cookie Fun!

Photo 1: A quartet of clementine pomanders with volunteer Cara

Photo 2: Chewy sourdough spice cookies fresh from the oven!

We had a great time making cookies and crafts for the solstice! We shared cookies with our partners at Our Place Community Outreach Center as a thank-you for another great season of programs. Stay tuned for more updates about our collaborative mural project with Our Place later this month.

Photo 1: Kaela (staff), Ciara (youth alum), and Cara (volunteer) rolling out dough;

Photo 2: One of Ciara’s pomanders, named Stewart/Stuart (spelled both ways!)

Participants: Share Your Feedback!

As we transition to year-round programming, we want to align our activities with our community's schedules and interests. We're inviting all former participants to share their feedback through this link. Your insights will shape our future scheduling. Every youth who responds has a chance to win one of three $25 gift certificates to Rosauers or Safeway. If you've already completed the survey, thank you for your contribution!

Upcoming holiday closure

We will be closed on Monday, January 15 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.