Propel Kitchens is building health and wealth within the historically under-resourced community of the St. Louis Promise Zone by providing its members with hands-on training in food preparation and service and then setting them up with careers in the industry.
As the recently appointed executive director for Propel Kitchens, Kisha Lee spends no two days alike. Determined to keep the burgeoning startup on track amid a challenging time for the food industry, she not only leads the organization but also rolls up her sleeves and leans into the daily grind — cooking, loading trucks, even driving trucks and more, depending on what is needed.
“It’s some of the hardest work I have ever done, and it’s the blessing of my life,” says Lee, a University of Missouri–St. Louis alumna who serves as president of the Ladue Board of Education.
Propel’s mission is ambitious. Operating from a newly constructed, fully equipped 4,500-square-foot commercial kitchen inside the Carter Commons development in Pagedale, it seeks to address health and wealth disparities within the St. Louis Promise Zone by providing its residents with real-world experience in large-scale, institutional food service. Utilizing a “learn and work” educational model, Propel’s major clients include Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University, as well as several charter schools across the city.
“There is no other place in the region that does production cooking in the community, volume cooking, like we do,” says Yvonne Sparks, a St. Louis civic leader and consultant who chairs Propel’s board of directors. “Even if someone comes in with restaurant experience, they have not been trained to do this.”
Read the full article on the STL Made website here.