Northern Children’s Services Celebrates Completion of Historic Hutter Kitchen Renovation

On May 28, Northern Children’s Services celebrated the completion of its newly renovated Hutter Kitchen with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that brought together donors, community partners, board members, staff, current and former residents, and supporters. The renovation marks the first completed project in A Place to Thrive, Northern’s multi-year campus improvement campaign to preserve and renew its historic Roxborough campus.

More than just a kitchen renovation, the project represents an investment in the health, wellness, and future success of the children, youth, and families Northern serves. Beginning this summer, the kitchen will support food service for Northern’s residential programs and serve as a hub for kitchen-based life-skills programming. The space will also help activate Northern’s campus garden, expand nutrition-focused learning opportunities, and support behavioral health and trauma recovery through improved access to healthy meals and fresh food. The renovation will also enhance operations connected to Northern’s community food pantry, funded by The Leo and Peggy Pierce Family Foundation, which has served more than 350 families since opening in February 2025.

“The kitchen will help us do so much more than prepare meals,” said Renata Cobbs-Fletcher, President and CEO of Northern Children’s Services. “It will allow us to strengthen programming, increase access to nutritious food, and create new opportunities for children, youth, and families to learn, grow, and heal.”

The celebration highlighted both Northern’s history and its future. Board Vice Chair Jamie Wyper reflected on the kitchen’s historic role at the center of campus life and its continued importance within Northern’s broader campus renewal strategy. Guests also included sisters Jean Turvey and Kitty Butterfield, who lived at Northern during the 1940s and early 1950s when it was known as Northern Home for Children. Throughout the event, they shared memories of learning from the chef, eating meals together in the cafeteria, and growing up on campus.

Current resident Dayianna Harris-Reid spoke about the opportunities the new kitchen will create for residents and families.

“I am excited about the new kitchen because it will create opportunities, memories, and learning experiences,” Harris-Reid shared. “I look forward to learning how to cook new meals and desserts, use the griddle, and work in a professional kitchen so I can improve my baking skills.”

The Hutter Kitchen Renovation was made possible through the generosity of 93 donors, including 22 businesses, as well as support from The Caroline Alexander Buck Foundation, The Gordon Charter Foundation, and The McLean Contributionship. Northern also extends its gratitude to Greenwright Inc., L-Street Architects LLC, Space by Spielman LTD, and Urban Technology Inc. for their partnership on the project.

Guests concluded the event with tours of the renovated kitchen and community food pantry and enjoyed refreshments prepared in the new kitchen—the first food served from the newly completed space.

As the first completed project in A Place to Thrive, the Hutter Kitchen Renovation represents an important step forward in Northern’s commitment to preserving its historic campus while creating new opportunities for children, youth, and families to thrive for generations to come.

View photos from the event below (Photos by Cassondra Wood Photography).

Media & Press: Download the full press release (PDF).