In Heaven there is no Bread that's Why we Bake it in Woonsocket RI

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Public Bread Oven Coming To Downtown
A $10,000 grant from the Rhode Island Foundation will pay to install the state’s first outdoor public bread oven.

By News Desk (Patch Staff) - Updated August 22, 2017 1:14 pm ET
Public Bread Oven Coming To Downtown

From the Rhode Island Foundation: The aroma of freshly baked bread soon will waft through downtown Woonsocket thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Rhode Island Foundation.

NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley in Woonsocket received $10,000 to install the state's first outdoor, wood-fired, public bread oven in Market Square.

“We will use the power of food to bring diverse cultures together in a fun and unique way and build neighborhood unity and pride,” said Joe Garlick, executive director.

The masonry oven is expected to be built adjacent to the Museum of Work and Culture. Plans call for the oven to be decorated with colorful tiles made by residents of the neighborhood.

“We envision it serving many purposes: as an anchor for our new public market and food business incubator; a catalyst for neighborhood cultural events; a place to make nutritious healthy food; a unique tourist attraction; a striking work of public art; and a magnet for people, stories and community-building entrepreneurs,” he said.

“There is nothing that celebrates community more or brings it together faster than food, especially if it's cooked outdoors over a wood fire. Food provides an opportunity for everyone to express their culture,” Garlick said.

The funding is through the Rhode Island Foundation’s Community Grants program. NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley is one of half a dozen area nonprofits to win grants.

“This funding will create places to gather, build relationships and inspire new collaborations that will strengthen community connections throughout the Blackstone Valley,” said Neil D. Steinberg, president and CEO of the Foundation.

The grants will support work ranging from converting a 19th-century school house into an educational and tourism center in Lincoln to creating a community fruit and vegetable farm in Central Falls.

“Initiatives like this would not be possible but for the foresight of those who came before us, the donors who generously invest in our state and the nonprofits that transform those resources into action,” said Steinberg.

The Foundation received nearly 130 applications for Community Grants. Work on most of the projects that received funding is expected to be underway before the end of the year.

The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. In 2016, the Foundation awarded a record $45 million in grants to organizations addressing the state’s most pressing issues and needs of diverse communities. Through leadership, fundraising and grant making activities, often in partnership with individuals and organizations, the Foundation is helping Rhode Island reach its true potential. For more information, visit here.

https://patch.com/rhode-island/woonsocket/public-bread-oven-coming-downtown