GLOW Academy students help prepare meals for people living in Eden Village

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Someone’s in the kitchen with girls at GLOW Academy, even if that someone is only there in spirit.

“It’s nice to know we can help,” said Aryana Brown, who is a GLOW senior. “It makes me proud.”

The girls in the kitchen are actually helping prepare meals for more than a dozen people who used to be homeless in downtown Wilmington.

Those people are the first wave of tenants at Eden Village. The village is a tiny home community that is putting a roof over people’s heads, in some cases, for the first time in years.

“I’m so blessed,” said Kita Harvin, who’s been at Eden Village since August. “This is my second chance.”

The students in GLOW’s culinary class are prepping meals to be delivered. Their instructor, Chef Gwen Gulliksen, says what’s on the menu for students is a helping of empathy.

“That’s what we’re teaching here; it’s empathy,” said Gulliksen. “We’re sharing food with people who are food insecure.”

The harvest meal being prepared this Thursday is the second meal the girls have shipped to Eden Village this semester.

“We have a real homeless problem in Wilmington, especially downtown,” said GLOW junior Azaela Carter. “Cooking for them, is just so inspiring knowing I’m able to do something to help.”

Eden Village is a concept that’s gotten national attention, highlighting it’s comprehensive effort to give homeless people shelter and a sense of community.

To learn more about it’s mission, click here.

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