Strata, Markham Support Nonprofit Group

Strata Group Purchasing Organization announced that its nonprofit group, Cooking Up Better Lives, has selected a recipient of the 2024 Better Lives Makeover. Hope Village in Fort Smith, Ark., earned the award.

Hope Village serves as a campus of Village2Village, a nonprofit group that has assisted children-at-risk in Uganda, Thailand, El Salvador and Greece for 14-plus years. The Fort Smith campus will become the primary homebase for further operations, training, support and expansion of Village2Village. Strata GPO says in the release that it will serve as a model to be replicated and exported to other geographical locations and cultures.

Strata member Greg Williams of Markham Restaurant Supply nominated Village2Village for the award. “Through the generous support of Cooking Up Better Lives and collaboration with Strata’s dealer and vendor members, the Hope Village campus will encourage transformation and bring hope to children-at-risk in our community and on a global level,” he says in a statement.

The Fort Smith campus will open by the end of the year. A multipurpose building on the 12-acre campus will house the kitchen. Hope Village aims to serve 50 to 100 people per day, five days a week. Markham, also located in Fort Smith, will spearhead the project and provide design, storage, delivery and installation services.

Rendering of Hope Village courtesy of Strata GPO.