Cleveland Clinic Pledges $1 Million to Transformation Project, Names Teaching Kitchen
Cleveland Public Market Corporation (CPMC) announced that Cleveland Clinic has committed $1,000,000 in support of the Market’s Transformation Project. The funds are dedicated to building a teaching kitchen in a vacant space on the second floor of the Market. The kitchen will be named in honor of Cleveland Clinic.
“At Cleveland Clinic, we believe food is medicine. That’s why we’re proud to join forces with the West Side Market, to expand access to nutritious food and education,” said Vickie Johnson, Chief Community Officer, Cleveland Clinic. “Our initiatives are designed to remove barriers, create opportunities and build stronger, more resilient communities. As we continue to address hunger across the neighborhoods we serve, this teaching kitchen will be a powerful extension of that work.” The teaching kitchen replaces an unused women’s locker room that has not previously been open to the public. The kitchen will have cold and dry food storage, working ovens and stovetops, a demonstration counter, and educational workspaces to allow for a wide range of programs and activities. CPMC will collaborate with Cleveland Clinic on nutrition and food access programs in the space, with additional programs including chef collaborations, cooking classes, merchant demonstrations, and more.
“Creating structured educational programming centered around food, nutrition, and entrepreneurship is a cornerstone of CPMC’s mission, as we look to strengthen West Side Market’s community impact,” says Rosemary Mudry, Executive Director of CPMC. “The possibilities for the teaching kitchen space are truly limitless – and we look forward to collaborating with community partners to create engaging educational programs that are relevant for a diverse set of audiences. We are especially grateful for Cleveland Clinic’s belief in the Market’s future and the impact this teaching kitchen will have on our community.”
“Thousands of school children visit us every year during loosely structured field trips,” adds David Abbott, President of the Board of Directors at CPMC. “This teaching kitchen will be a dedicated space to activate the potential around this built-in demand for learning at the Market. Thank you to Cleveland Clinic for sharing our enthusiasm for the opportunity presented by this major improvement.”
When not scheduled for programs, the teaching kitchen will also hold public and private events and classes through Market merchants, local chefs, and community partnerships. In addition, it will serve as the onsite catering kitchen for the future event space located on the second floor of the Market. Revenue from programs and rentals will go toward West Side Market operations, as it is central to ensuring a sustainable operating model.
“We’ve made so much progress on the project, but the remaining funds we have to raise are critical to create the spaces and experiences needed to put the Market on the path to long-term financial sustainability,” explains Mudry. “Having a dedicated hands-on classroom, a rentable event space, and a prepared local food hall is exciting for our customers and aligned with 21st century best practices. It also allows us to expand our revenue portfolio in a way that ensures we can continue to operate as a true public market, where small businesses offer a variety of fresh groceries to customers from our Ohio City neighborhood and throughout Northeast Ohio.”
Cleveland Clinic’s support, along with other soon-to-be-announced commitments, have helped CPMC raise $60 million toward the total project cost. The finish line is close, but CPMC is still seeking $10 million in community support to complete project fundraising this year.
In addition to this significant investment, Cleveland Clinic is allocating $50,000 specifically towards food programming development. Another round of the Market’s recent “Fresh Fundamentals” weekly chef demonstrations launches this fall with prepared meal kits for community members with SNAP/EBT benefits – made possible by Cleveland Clinic’s support.
Working with local nonprofit Food Access Raises Everyone (FARE), Cleveland Clinic and CPMC have also partnered on a two-pilot “Food is Medicine” program entitled Produce Rx. Medical professionals prescribed fresh produce to patients with diabetes with all produce being sourced through businesses at West Side Market. The results of this pilot were highly successful:
- 55% of participants improved their food security and/or are no longer food insecure
- 67% of participants lost weight
- 55% of participants improved a1c (of the subset who had 2 tests)
- 31% of participants taking insulin no longer needed it after the program.
In its second pilot phase, Produce Rx delivered produce boxes to participants’ doors with recipes and seasonally fresh goods, similar to a trendy meal delivery service. With the success of two pilots, both entities look forward to continued collaboration around expanded “Food is Medicine” efforts.
“As neighbors, Lutheran Hospital and the West Side Market serve many of the same people every day,” said Timothy R. Barnett, MD, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Cleveland Clinic Lutheran Hospital. “Together, we’re making healthy choices more accessible to our community. This partnership helps us stay connected to our community and support meaningful, lasting improvements in people’s health.”