Name

Liberty's Kitchen

Legal name

Liberty's Kitchen

Website

https://libertyskitchen.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Workforce Development and Culinary Training

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Caterers (722320), Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional Culinary Arts (Chef Training) (EDAOAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Institutional & Commercial Kitchen Training (Schools/Healthcare/Corporate) (EDAOAKAL)

Keywords

• Workforce development training
• Youth job training
• Culinary skills training
• Nonprofit education services
• Hospitality career training

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Café Operations: The public-facing café at 300 N Broad Street generates revenue through lunch service. The café is run by trainees and offers affordable lunch options made and served by young people. All proceeds support youth programming.
2. Individual Donations: One-time and monthly donations from individual supporters. Monthly donors join the 'On the Line' giving club with exclusive benefits.
3. Foundation Grants: Major grants from foundations such as the $650,000 from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation (April 2024) to build organizational capacity and support program expansion.
4. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate support including gifts like the $10,000 from Conagra Brands Foundation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Liberty's Kitchen is a nonprofit workforce development organization that runs a 12-week paid job-training program for New Orleans youth ages 16-24, delivering hands-on culinary and hospitality skills through its operating public-facing café at 300 N Broad Street, supplemented by career development, leadership training, externships with local employers, and ongoing alumni support via the Youth Leadership Council. The organization also operates a catering business that generates revenue and additional training opportunities.

Product overview

Liberty's Kitchen operates as a nonprofit workforce development organization offering a single integrated program portfolio centered on its Youth Development Program (YDP). The core offering is the 12-week paid job-training program for youth ages 16-24, which combines hands-on culinary training at its public-facing Café at 300 N Broad Street with career development, leadership skills, and externships. The organization also provides ongoing alumni support through its Youth Leadership Council and operates a catering business. These components work together to create a pathway from training through employment and long-term career advancement for New Orleans youth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Youth Development Program (YDP) A 12-week paid job-training program for New Orleans youth ages 16-24 offering hands-on skill building in food service, career development, leadership, and transferable skills. The program includes a foundations week, culinary training, and externships with local employers.
• Liberty's Kitchen Café A public-facing café at 300 N Broad Street, New Orleans, run by Youth Development Program trainees. Open Monday through Friday from 11 am to 2:30 pm, offering affordable lunch options made and served by program participants. All proceeds support youth programming.
• Catering Business A catering service operated by Liberty's Kitchen providing additional job training experience and revenue generation opportunities for program trainees; serves local customers and events.
• Youth Leadership Council (YLC) An alumni engagement program open to all program graduates with no expiration date. The YLC is comprised of alumni leading career advancement, food access, and entrepreneurship initiatives. Meets every 4th Monday of each month at 4 pm.
• Alumni Support Services Ongoing mentorship, career coaching, and resource access provided to graduates after program completion, including access to computers, resources, and family meals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,000+ young adults served since 2008
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Catalyst KitchenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLiberty's Kitchen is a member of Catalyst Kitchen, a network supporting workforce development organizations in the food service industry.
• Candid (GuideStar)minorOthersDisplayed Candid Seal of Transparency for Nonprofits, demonstrating commitment to organizational transparency and accountability.
• Employer Partners (Various Hotels and Restaurants)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 25 employer partners including hotels and restaurants host Youth Development Program participants in externships and hire graduates. Partners include Cahn's, Royal Sonesta, The Roosevelt Hotel, Ace Hotel, The Dr. Hotel, The Old No. 1, The Sazerac, The Olde Nco, The Breads, Martin's, The Queen, The Riverside, The Bistre, The Crescent, The Hotel Monteleone, and others.
• Community Partners NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExtensive network of over 60 community partners providing comprehensive supportive and advocacy services to youth participants. Includes organizations like JOB1, Covenant House, Children's Hospital, Grow Dat Youth Farm, Urban League of Greater New Orleans, and many others focused on youth services, healthcare, education, and food access.
• Top Box Foods New OrleansminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood system partner working to increase access to healthy food across New Orleans. Kiall, a Liberty’s Kitchen graduate, serves as Distribution Manager for Top Box Foods Louisiana.
• MiNO FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides scholarships for Liberty’s Kitchen graduates to study at the International Culinary Center. Formerly known as ChefsMove! Scholarship. Syrena Johnson was first graduate to receive this scholarship.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hot Bread Kitchen: NYC-based nonprofit providing culinary workforce training and business incubation for immigrant women and individuals facing barriers to employment. Comparable in mission, target population, training-plus-enterprise model, and emphasis on placement in food industry careers.
• Café Reconcile: New Orleans-based nonprofit operating a workforce development program for at-risk youth through a training café, with culinary training and wraparound support services. Shares the same city, target demographic (disconnected youth), training-café model, and Catholic-affiliated founding ethos as Liberty's Kitchen.
• DC Central Kitchen: Washington DC-based nonprofit that combines paid culinary job training for adults facing barriers with a large-scale community meals operation and social-enterprise catering. Directly comparable to Liberty's Kitchen in mission, operating model (training kitchen + café/catering revenue + employer placement), and target population.
• Café Momentum: Dallas-based nonprofit providing a 12-month paid culinary training program for justice-involved youth, operating a fine-dining training restaurant and catering services. Closely mirrors Liberty's Kitchen's model of combining paid training with a public-facing food service venue and strong placement outcomes.
• Greyston Bakery: Yonkers, NY-based bakery and workforce development social enterprise known for its 'Open Hiring' model that employs individuals with barriers to employment. Directly comparable in using a food production business as the platform for workforce training and in operating as a self-sustaining social enterprise alongside nonprofit programs.

Broad incumbents

• The Fortune Society: NYC-based nonprofit offering workforce development, housing, and reentry services to formerly incarcerated individuals, including food service training programs. Comparable in serving justice-involved and disconnected populations through workforce training pathways, though broader in scope than Liberty's Kitchen.
• Goodwill Industries International: National nonprofit operating workforce development programs across multiple industries including food service and hospitality. Comparable in mission (employment for individuals with barriers) and employer partnership model, though Goodwill operates at vastly greater scale and across many sectors.

Regional players

• Chrysalis: Los Angeles-based nonprofit providing workforce development, job placement, and supportive services to individuals experiencing homelessness or facing barriers to employment. Comparable in target population, wraparound support model, and emphasis on employer partnerships, though geographically distinct and broader in service mix.
• Project Renewal: NYC-based nonprofit providing workforce development, housing, and healthcare to individuals experiencing homelessness, including culinary training programs through its social enterprises. Comparable in combining food service training with social services for vulnerable populations, though serving a different metro.

Emerging players

• Catalyst Kitchen: National network of culinary workforce development organizations; Liberty's Kitchen is an active member. Functions as a peer network and sector advocate rather than a direct service provider, but is materially comparable as an industry peer and source of best practices and funding partnerships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/libertyskitchen
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCyE0oU5jEg5E9FD1KtbzpEg
• Facebookfacebook.com/LibertysKitchen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/libertyskitchen
• Instagraminstagram.com/libertyskitchen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Liberty's Kitchen