Tenant Spotlight: Chefs Collaborative

One of the newest members of the NonProfit Center community, Chefs Collaborative moved its offices in the NonProfit Center in July 2006. The organization was the first nonprofit to move into the center’s new shared office and shared services space on the Lower Level.

Chefs Collaborative is a nationwide organization headquartered in Boston. Its mission is to educate the culinary community about sustainability issues, specifically giving chefs tools for better purchasing decisions involving local farmers, food artisans and families.

Founding member and famous Chicago chef Rick Bayless created the collaborative with the vision that chefs can influence the food buying habits of the greater population by themselves purchasing local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients.

According to Elizabeth Kennedy, Chefs Collaborative membership and office coordinator, these food choices are not only better for the environment, but are delicious. 

Tenancy at the Center

With a national office staff of three members, the shared office and services space in the NonProfit Center is a perfect fit. Explains Kennedy, “The NonProfit Center is in a perfect, accessible location in downtown Boston where we can host events and hold meetings in a professional office space. The sense of community, support and availability to other nonprofits that we can learn from is wonderful.” 

Tenant Cooperation

Chefs Collaborative’s neighbor in the NonProfit Center is the Green Restaurant Association, which certifies restaurants as being environmentally friendly including recycling, using non-toxic products and energy efficiency. Being next door to one another is a great resource for both organizations. “We guide members to them,” Kennedy says, “and they guide people towards us. It's a wonderful relationship.”

Programs

Chefs hosts an event every three to four months. Recent events have included workshops in Boulder, Co., as well as an event on sustainable seafood issues in New York City. The events deal with sustainability, distribution and supply. Chefs hosted the pre-Valentine’s Day event at the NonProfit Center on February 9 where Craig Sams and Josephine Fairley, co-founders of Green and Black’s Organic Chocolate, discussed how their company makes organic products that are produced with sustainable farming and fair trade practices.

Membership and Getting Involved

Members of the Collaborative receive a subscription to the seasonal newsletter, bimonthly public affairs communiqués, the monthly e-newsletter Freshnet, as well as networking opportunities through invitations to all local, regional and national events.

Membership is open to everyone from individuals to corporations to restaurants and small businesses to educational institutions. Chefs also has member-driven chapters in Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash., and hopes to establish a local chapter in Boston.
 
For more information of Chefs Collaborative, check out their website or contact Elizabeth Kennedy at 617.236.5200.

Learn more about other NonProfit Center tenant organizations by visiting Our Tenants and Tenant Spotlight sections.