A food truck with a commercial kitchen then delivers those meals to \u201ccommunities in food deserts,\u201d Macleish said. His innovative approach now encompasses workforce development.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe offer a paid culinary training program for young adults in the communities we serve,\u201d Macleish said. \u201cWe try to target former meal recipients to break the cycle of food and financial insecurity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Pinellas County-based nonprofit, aided by a grant, pays interns $20 an hour to train with chefs for 20 hours weekly. Macleish said they receive a food safety certification, and a career counselor provided by a community partner \u201chelps them find full-time work, ideally in the culinary field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Macleish said 360 Eats recruits participants by simply putting a flyer on the food truck, which typically provides 200 meals for 50 to 70 people in an hour. \u201cThey\u2019re picking up meals for their whole family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we\u2019re there serving in the community, it\u2019s really easy for us to target that demographic ourselves,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
However, the internship program is in flux as grants become increasingly competitive. Macleish said the nonprofit\u2019s top supporters include the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, Community Foundation Tampa Bay and the Cities of Clearwater and St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n
He noted that 360 Eats has historically relied on grants<\/a>, with private donations accounting for about 5% of revenue. \u201cWe\u2019re really trying to grow that in this new year,\u201d Macleish said.<\/p>\n \u201cFederal funding cuts and things are impacting the nonprofit sector as a whole,\u201d he added. \u201cSmall nonprofits are kind of feeling the effects more \u2026 It\u2019s becoming harder to get the grants that we typically relied on every single year.\u201d<\/p>\n The unique nonprofit has made a significant impact<\/a> on the area since its launch in 2020. Macleish founded 360 Eats with his mother, Ellen, a professional chef and fellow food waste activist.<\/p>\n He admitted that the two \u201chad no idea what we were doing\u201d when they launched the nonprofit, and lacked a model to follow. \u201cI\u2019ve looked, and I haven\u2019t found any other organization doing anything similar to what we\u2019re doing nationwide,\u201d Macleish said.<\/p>\n Some nonprofits rescue food and deliver it to other organizations. Others prepare meals, but not from a food truck that provides a sense of normalcy and a gathering place for struggling residents.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just feels really cool to take an idea that had never really been done before and watch it come to life,\u201d Macleish said. \u201cAnd watch it actually work and bridge a pretty major gap in our food system.\u201d<\/p>\n
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