West Palm Beach Non-Profit Kitchen, Café Joshua, Wins Ecolab $25,000 Clean Makeover Contest
West Palm Beach Non-Profit Kitchen, Café Joshua, Wins Ecolab $25,000 Clean Makeover Contest
Non-profit kitchen trains clients to work in commercial foodservice
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ecolab has selected Café Joshua, a non-profit kitchen in West Palm Beach, Fla., as the second winner of its Clean Makeover Contest, which invited foodservice operators to explain why they could use extra help from Ecolab. Café Joshua will receive up to $25,000 of Ecolab equipment, products and services to enhance the cleanliness and efficiency of its operations.
Entries in the Ecolab Clean Makeover Contest ranged from humbling to humorous, but all shared a common theme: a desire to maintain a high degree of cleanliness under sometimes challenging conditions.
"From the hundreds of entries we received, Café Joshua's essay captured our attention because of the organization's impact on the local community," said Kevin Rowley, senior marketing manager, Ecolab Institutional Foodservice. "The organization feeds the homeless, helps clients develop life skills and prepares them for work in the foodservice industry. Café Joshua also recently launched a corporate catering business to help support their efforts."
Through Café Joshua's programs, students learn on-site food preparation and kitchen operations, including food safety regulations and best practices in kitchen sanitation. Over the past three years, the program has successfully graduated 54 students. Many go on to work in catering and foodservice careers in local restaurants and hotels, medical centers, banquet and dining halls and school districts.
"We understand the importance of maintaining a clean kitchen environment, and that's why Ecolab's expertise is so welcomed," said Robert Coleman, director of Food Service at Café Joshua. "They provide best-in-class food safety practices that will benefit our students, our corporate catering business and our food programs for the homeless."
The Clean Makeover Contest prize package, valued at up to $25,000, includes:
An Ecolab rental dishmachine with innovative Apex2 technology
EcolabPest Elimination service
An Ecolab Cleaning Caddy for touch-free restroom cleaning
Assorted cleaning products and tools for kitchen operations, including detergents, sanitizers, floor and glass cleaners and hand care products
Ice Machine Smart CareSM Performance Check service
Water filtration equipment for an ice machine and postmix beverages
A food safety evaluation and coaching session
A Prep-n-Print food labeling system
"Research shows how important cleanliness is to the success of foodservice operations," explained Rowley. "Disciplined programs ensure a consistent high level of cleanliness and safety. The Ecolab Clean Makeover Contest is our way of helping Café Joshua build on their existing programs for even greater impact and to emphasize to their students the importance of cleanliness in the foodservice industry."
The other Clean Makeover Contest winner is The Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties in Neptune, N.J. This organization was selected for the impact its Culinary Training Kitchen program has on the local community. It provides unemployed and under-employed adults the opportunity to train for jobs in the foodservice industry.
Additional information on the contest, including images of the Ecolab team presenting Café Joshua with the Clean Makeover Contest award, can be found at: www.whycleanmatters.com/cleanmakeover/media.
About Café Joshua
Started in 1995, Café Joshua was a place for homeless people in West Palm Beach to receive a hot, restaurant-style meal. In 2000, the organization merged with The Lord's Place, which provides comprehensive case management, job training and supportive housing, as well as a thrift store. The merger allowed Café Joshua to expand into a corporate catering business that brings revenues back to the nonprofit. The agency serves an average of 560 homeless men, women and children every month. For more information, visit www.thelordsplace.org.
About Ecolab
With 2011 pro forma sales of $11 billion and more than 40,000 employees, Ecolab Inc. (NYS: ECL) is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that provide and protect clean water, safe food, abundant energy and healthy environments. Ecolab delivers comprehensive programs and services to the food, energy, healthcare, industrial and hospitality markets in more than 160 countries. For more Ecolab news and information, visit www.ecolab.com.
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Ecolab Inc.
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MediaRelations@Ecolab.com
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