Northeast Philadelphia high school chef tackles food insecurity, impacts students one meal at a time
Lunch is one of the busiest times inside Tacony Academy Charter High School in Northeast Philadelphia.
Chef Javier Ramirez takes joy in serving hundreds of students every day. Everything is made from scratch, and many are the chef's own recipes.
"The chicken is fresh, all fresh vegetables, the sauces are not from the can," Ramirez said.
Ramirez is a culinary expert with more than 20 years of experience. He traded in a fancy hotel kitchen for one that's in a high school cafeteria in Wissinoming.
"As soon as they finish their lunch, they tell me if it's good or it's bad," Ramirez said.
Daja Haines is a senior, and she said her lunches give her fuel to tackle her studies.
"Whatever I eat makes my energy more ready for school or for class," Haines said.
Ramirez is part of a group called Red Rabbit, a national organization that provides restaurant-quality meals to mostly inner-city schools throughout the U.S., including six in Philadelphia, where food insecurity is on the rise.
Ramirez works closely with the Vice President of Partner Relations, Nausher Khan, who popped in from New York City.
"Food is the only thing in our lives when we have it, it's the last thing we think about, and when we don't, it's the only thing we think about," Khan said. "Working with children, primarily children of color, Black, brown children who are in under-resourced or low-income areas."
Ramirez is impacting these students one meal at a time.
"That's the reason I'm coming to work. That's my reward," he said.
