Cooking up community: Omaha Home for Boys teaches life skills through cooking and community outreach

OMAHA, Neb. —

The Omaha Home for Boys is using its Community Impact Kitchen to teach teens valuable life skills while addressing food insecurity in the metro area.

In the kitchen, lessons go far beyond recipes.

“Kids got to understand, we’re here to help, we’re here to love them, we’re here to feed them, and show them the right way for success in the future,” Laquan Cribbs said.

Cribbs works as a cook in the program after several other jobs and opportunities in food service.

The nonprofit has always cooked and fed young men in its residential program, and every teen is required to have a job. Some choose to work in the kitchen, where they prepare hundreds of meals daily for their peers.

“It’s about the skills they’re learning. Preparing the food, coming to work, ready. It’s skills they can put on a resume moving forward,” said Kelsey Ridder, OHB development officer.

Recently, the Omaha Home for Boys expanded its kitchen’s reach through the Community Impact Kitchen, partnering with other organizations to provide meals.

“We have partnerships with other organizations as well, where we’re doing meal services for those individuals,” Ridder said.

One of these partnerships includes delivering 60 meals a day to the nearby Radius program for youth, with the kitchen acting as their caterer. The meals feature fresh, local ingredients, including beef raised from the nonprofit’s Cooper Farm.

“All of our beef is raised there by the boys we have here, the oldest 4-H program in the state, which we’re proud of,” said OHB sustainability director Justin Loehr.

The farm also grows vegetables, further supporting the kitchen’s efforts. Loehr, who has known Cribbs for 19 years, reflected on their connection.

“He was such a great kid. Probably the strongest kid I ever met,” Loehr said.

Cribbs, who once lived at the Omaha Home for Boys and started as a dishwasher on campus, now uses his culinary and life experience to inspire the teens he mentors.

“Just to see me where I came from, as a community giving back to these young ones. Teaching them, letting them know that I was here also,” Cribbs said.

Cribbs said as a young man, he was a friendly guy who made bad decisions.

For Cribbs, giving back is his “secret sauce.”

“It’s a blessing honestly, and I have a great opportunity to be here and show them the correct way,” he said.

The Omaha Home for Boys continues to make a difference, one meal at a time, while empowering young men to build brighter futures.

If you’re interested in the food service offered by the Community Impact Kitchen, visit their website: Impact Kitchen.

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