Root

Root is proud to be a Sincere Foundation grant recipient, and we are grateful for their support of our Community Catering Initiative, generating healthy meals for our neighbors and meaningful training and employment for the young people in our programs. Over the last three years, the Sincere Foundation has awarded $1 million to 56 organizations - together, we are Feeding Opportunity and Community!

Root is a proud member of Catalyst Kitchens, a national network of teaching kitchens dedicated to supporting individuals with barriers to employment to launch and grow careers.

One of the many ways member organizations support each other is through regular gatherings to share best practices. Earlier this week, we were proud to have Root’s Program Manager, Mihail, lead a Training Kitchen Community of Practice session focused on alumni support and the value of nurturing relationships after graduation.

Root’s alumni services provide formal follow-up for 12 months after graduation, but our doors remain open to any alumni for drop-in services at any time for support in a wide range of areas, including career transitions, continuing education/certification, completing tax forms, earning a driver’s license, navigating housing challenges, or simply needing someone to talk to.

A big thanks to the crew from AMG for rolling up their sleeves and volunteering in our kitchen today as part of their AMG Gives Back week. Volunteers rolled up their sleeves and got right to work alongside our alumni team members Sarena and Julie, chopping, prepping, portioning and measuring. Together, they built 86 family-sized lasagnes for our partners at Beverly Bootstraps!

We are grateful for AMG’s continued partnership and support of Root’s culinary training, alumni employment, and community catering programs - together we are Feeding Opportunity and Community!

Root is proud to be a member of Mass Restaurants United and an active partner in their mission to support independent restaurants in the Commonwealth. Many MRU members serve as vital partners for Root’s Culinary Training Program: serving on our Chef Advisory Council, opening their doors to our trainees for externships, or bringing their expertise directly into our training kitchen as guest chefs and speakers.

Join us at their annual Breaking Boundaries event on Monday, June 8th, for a day of real conversationswith industry leaders, community partners, and changemakers interested in creating real solutions and real change in the industry.

See link in our bio for tickets, or visit: https://www.ticketmaster.com/mass-restaurant-united-breaking-boundaries-in-boston-massachusetts-06-08-2026/event/0100646D9A9FCABD?CAMEFROM=CFC_BIGNIGHTLIVE_SOCIAL_MERLINDA_JUNE8

Root’s summer cohort is in session! Last week, we welcomed our 29th cohort, and they have jumped right in! It was a busy first week covering the ServSafe Allergen curriculum, learning basic kitchen safety and knife cuts. This week began with a discussion of their Community Contract, setting goals for how they will work and learn together over the next three months. We can’t wait to watch their progress!

Congrats to Root Cohort 28 grad Nick for earning his ServSafe Manager certification this week!

Last week, Root ED Nate Berkowitz participated in a collaborative discussion at Cornerstone Creative alongside partners from Cape Ann Works, The Open Door, and Cornerstone Creative — exploring how workforce development initiatives can continue to grow across the North Shore. The conversation brought together community members, business owners, and local leaders committed to expanding opportunity and addressing food access in our region. We are grateful to be in community with organizations doing vital work!

We were thrilled to welcome back Root graduate Sebastien this week, who returned to lead a tour of our program for a group of his peers from New Liberty Innovation School. During his time at Root, Sebastien worked hard to build both his culinary and communication skills — and it was inspiring to watch the young person who once walked through our doors shy and quiet now step up as a leader, sharing his story and encouraging his peers to apply. We’re grateful for referral partners like the team at New Liberty, who help connect young people to our program and continue to support them on their journeys.

One of our traditions on graduation night is for each Root cohort to add its words of wisdom to the classroom wall — advice for the trainees who come after them. Cohort 28 showed us once again how much they grew during their time with us - “Nothing changes if nothing changes,” “Take time to learn who you are,” and “Don’t get discouraged — keep pushing through.” We couldn’t say it better ourselves! We are so proud of all that they accomplished and can’t see where they go next.