Community support is a founding principle of Casual Animal Brewing, as co-owners Kyle and Lara Gray included their philanthropic “give-back tap,” dubbed the Local Motive, in their original business plan. Two dollars of every Local Motive beer sold goes directly to a nonprofit of Casual Animal’s choice, with the beer and organization rotating every two months. For July and continuing into August, that organization is Thelma’s Kitchen.
Thelma’s Kitchen is a program run by Reconciliation Services, an organization working to address the root causes of the economic and racial disparities in Kansas City through food and community. It’s named for Thelma Altschul, who with her husband, Alexii, began outreach work along Troost over 30 years ago, starting by feeding any neighbors who were hungry. Today, the kitchen operates as a gathering place under head chef Natasha Bailey, prep chefs Natasha Ellington and Isha Jones, and front-of-house coordinator Andrew Dessert. With the help of a volunteer crew, Thelma’s serves and delivers boxed lunches and a variety of catering trays Monday through Thursday.
The Local Motive program benefits six local nonprofits per year, growing from four per year in 2018-2020. The taproom “Animals,” as Casual Animals playfully refers to its staff, are also involved in the decision-making process, and previous beneficiaries include MOCSA, After the Harvest, KC Pet Project, Bike Walk KC, Hope Kids, and the Midwest Innocence Project.
Per its website, former Local Motive organizations have received between $1,500 and $4,000 at the end of their featured months. “While we may not give to a large number of organizations each year, our. . .giving campaign allows us to donate significant dollar amounts that can have a greater impact on the organizations we do support.”
The rotating draft currently benefiting Thelma’s Kitchen is a light, malt-focused Kolsch. Find it and other events at casualanimalbrewing.com