The Works, Inc.

The Works, Inc. is a community development corporation serving South Memphis, Tennessee and the Greater Memphis area. We are dedicated to the holistic renaissance of our community through the provision of services in areas of housing, economic development, education, and advocacy.

The mission The Works, Inc. is to work to rebuild, restore and renew our community’s families, and the environments in which they live through housing, economic development, and social services. Cooking Matters is an evidence-based program developed by Share Our Strength to empower families with the skills to stretch their food budgets and cook affordable, nutritious meals at home. Through Cooking Matters community partners serving low-income families offer 6-week Cooking Matters courses to clients. Each course is taught by skilled volunteers including chefs, foodies, and nutrition educators and covers meal preparation, grocery shopping, food budgeting and nutrition. Classes begin with group discussion and learning, then move into guided hands-on cooking. Participants eat the food they prepared family-style and discuss what they learned and how to apply it at home. They also take home a bag of groceries after each class to replicate that meal with their family. The Works is the Cooking Matters partner for Shelby County and has implemented the program on a limited basis. We have received funding from the Plough Foundation to serve City of Memphis Senior Center participants, and also offer courses to South Memphis residents. With this request we will ramp up the program, dedicating a staff coordinator and offering classes to participants across the county. We can offer the classes in two types of locations: The Works operates the South Memphis Farmers Market, which houses a cooking education kitchen. Additionally, the curriculum allows for the use of “kitchens in a box”, permitting us to offer the courses in partner facilities, even if they do not have kitchens.