Urban Meals Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina | Series
Documentary, Family
Urban Meals can heal! We are a cooking show that provides JOBS for local out of work film crew. We provide MEALS for our hungry, unsheltered neighbors. We provide AWARENESS for our local non profits who work with food insecurities on a regular basis & we feature LOCAL CHEFS who support community.
Urban Meals Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina | Series
Documentary, Family
Green Light
This campaign raised $21,346 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
104 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Urban Meals can heal! We are a cooking show that provides JOBS for local out of work film crew. We provide MEALS for our hungry, unsheltered neighbors. We provide AWARENESS for our local non profits who work with food insecurities on a regular basis & we feature LOCAL CHEFS who support community.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Urban Meals is a locally produced cooking show where every meal we create is served to the homeless in our city. We provide sustainability in Wilmington NC by employing talented local out-of-work film crew, sharing delicious healthy meals with our city's homeless, advertising dynamic local chefs who go the extra mile and showcasing local non-profits. All of this brings awareness to the places you can volunteer, places you can go to find food & work, and places you can go to serve. This keeps our community moving positively, towards health & wellness, while also providing wonderful family-friendly entertainment consisting of mouth-watering recipes brought to us by phenomenal local Wilmington Chefs! Urban Meals is entertaining, fun, healthy, DELICIOUS television content that makes a productive difference in the community.
For 14 years I was a single mom of 3, on both the giving and receiving side of sharing meals. There is so much to be said about the healing power of food. I worked in the film industry for many years in the casting department and recently in the craft services department, having finally found my home in producing this important cooking show. When going to a food bank at a local church years ago to get groceries for me and my kids, I remember the feeling of relief as I watched loving people who didn't even know us, fill bags with nutritious food for a 2 yr old, 6 yr old, 10 yr old, and me. With all my heart I thanked them and said, "when I'm back on my feet, I'll pay it forward". God was with us then and continues to guide us today. I've learned along this journey that giving and receiving are equally important for growth and healing for everyone. NOW is the time to help our Wilmington community. We have many out-of-work film crew, some with kids, who are struggling with unemployment and food insecurity. We have many unsheltered people in Wilmington with no access to meals or beds. As of Feb 2023, our homeless are being forced to leave the library and will be ticketed/arrested for sleeping there. We don't have enough shelters in Wilmington. Where will they go? What will they eat? In March 2023 the Salvation army will be shut down in order to build a bigger facility, BUT the new Salvation Army won't open for 2 years, which will create MORE unsheltered in need of beds and meals. The time is now to produce this cooking show that will provide jobs, meals, and awareness to organizations in place to help our struggling neighbors and bring healing to our community. Let's work together in love to uplift and empower each other, to follow Jesus' teaching of His greatest commandment which is to love your neighbor as yourself. Let's change our city for the better. This tv show came to me through prayer, so I can't wait to see what God does with Urban Meals.
For 6 months we've been in the pre-production stages for our 2023 episodes working on a 100% volunteer basis, organizing, securing locations, local crew, local chefs, amazing recipes, and cooking styles from various cultures to be filmed and shared with the hungry right here in Wilmington. It's now time to begin the production (filming) phase. This crowdfunding campaign will allow us to move forward in hiring local artists and providing meals and resources to those often forgotten, bringing jobs, food, conversations, and healing to our community. We are so excited to start filming if/when we raise this money! Look up your favorite cooking show and you'll see it costs between $200,000.00 - $400,000.00 per episode! Well, our goal is to make this amazing season for just $5,000.00 per episode, including all crew, equipment, and food. Sound impossible? It will definitely be challenging. In all honesty, we need to raise $100,000.00 this year to be able to produce the episodes needed. So we'll start with this production campaign through the amazing Seed and Spark team! We are so thankful for Seed and Spark! If/when we raise enough to start production, we'll begin our filming, then we'll do a luau fundraiser in the summer to continue more filming, and then a post-production campaign later in the fall. When Urban Meals Wilmington is complete, we'll pitch to networks with the hope of being picked up and aired on a regular basis so that we may continue providing jobs, food/conversation with those on the streets, and bring healing to Wilmington consistently....and eventually to our neighboring communities in need.
As a contributor to this very important show, we'll be inviting you to watch the finished product with us at special events, premiere parties, private screenings, and public screenings at local venues and theatres depending on your level of involvement. We've provided an incentives page for you to view and decide how you'd like to get involved. Please pray about it, choose a level of support that's right for you, and share with your friends and family for the 30 days this campaign will be active. When we reach the 80% level, we'll get a green light and be eligible to accept your contributions. Making your pledge today will get us one step closer to production. THANK YOU for your heart and support. As soon as we reach this level of our campaign goal we'll be able to hire our crew and start filming! Let's make it happen, Wilmington!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Camera and Monitor
Costs $2,800
Professional equipment is crucial when filming quality productions with the intent of pitching.
Locations
Costs $1,500
Location filming/permits costs.
Wardrobe, HMU
Costs $500
Wardrobe, hair & makeup add professional visuals in telling the story of our chefs.
External Drives
Costs $300
We need 3 external drives for footage storage.
Props and Set Dressing
Costs $500
Props & set dressing are essential to establish the scene's authenticity, context & set the mood.
Sound and Lighting
Costs $1,000
Professional sound & lighting make or break a show. We want Urban Meals to be well seen & heard.
Food
Costs $2,500
Grocery gift cards needed for meals we cook & serve to hundreds of homeless & also to feed our crew.
Crew Travel
Costs $1,500
90% of our crew is from Wilmington. 10% will be traveling from Charlotte. Hotel rooms & gas needed.
Our Incredible Cast & Crew
Costs $10,400
This will cover a small % of what the crew normally would receive.The rest of their time is probono.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Jeff Turner is a brilliant corporate video director/creator for various corporations, specializing in creating live animations videos for team training. Jeff also has a huge heart for those in need, and makes time to share breakfast with the homeless every Thursday morning through Rice N Beans Wilmington. We are so blessed to have him as our director of Urban Meals Wilmington, Episode 1! The chef Jeff will be filming for this episode is so unique! I can't wait to meet him in person and see how he does what he does!
Logan Siu is a talented actor/singer/musician who can be seen in such shows as Dog Gone, Outer Banks season 1 & 2, ALong for the Ride, as well as upcomoing films Somethin' Here, and Black Spartans. In between film jobs you can sometimes catch Logan at Thalian Hall performing theatre shows such as Footloose (Chuck Cranston), and Grease (Johnny Casino). We are so excited to welcome Logan to our team as a guest host for episode 3! You won't want to miss this one! There will be traditional Polynesian cooking and dance involved! Thats all I can say for now. Stay tuned!
Honey Head films' Kristi Ray and Erika are an incredible female lead production team whom we are so excited to hire! Their story is inspiring and their talent is admirable. They work creatively to build a team of talented local film professionals, with a focus on female filmmakers in our Wilmington area to guide towards fruition of their dreams and goals in this ever-changing industry. These ladies are highly respected among Wilmington locals not only for their tremeous talent but also for their compassion and strength.
Phil Bebe of Go North Films is an amazing film director from Charlotte, NC who we are stoked to hire for Ep 4! We saw a short film called SHOES, directed by this talented filmmaker and our hearts were moved tremendously. Phil's creative eye for art, camera angles and lighting, mesh together with his heart for the unsheltered in a way that brings the hard truth to tug on your heartstrings during this eye opening short. We are so blessed to have Phil as part of the Urban Meals Season 3 team.
Michael Siu is a gifted musician and music composer who brings so much to our team! Not only does Michael play the piano, guitar, ukulele, and bongos, he also cooks professionally! We are so excited to have Michael and his original music as part of Urban Meals Wilmington! I'm secretly hoping he'll allow us to film him cooking up some gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free dinners one day too. Stay tuned (no pun intended) for some dynamic music, and hopefully a delicious healthy recipe or 2!
Thurman Burgess is our senior consultant and a man of many talents. If you want to know anything about Wilmington's history, today's current events, or life in general, take a seat on Thurman's front porch for hours of thought provoking converstaions, laughs, wisdom, entertainment, prayer, and heart. We are so fortunate and truly blessed to have Thurman as one of our leaders.
Marty Siu - is the creator and producer of Urban Meals. While most of Marty's film credits are in the casting deartment, she felt lead by God to create Urban Meals, after spending time in prayer over how to use her gifts for filmmaking & heart for service. Marty's greatest joy is being a mom. Her greatest career goal is to produce a successful cooking show that not only features wonderful chefs/recipes, but also reaches those often forgotten, with God's love, great meals, and intentional converstations to promote peace, hope, and positive change.
Ben Yemba is an local actor who travels not only for film/tv but also travels all over the Country for his job as a brand ambassador, trying many different foods, drinks and sauces both new and old. We are thrilled to have our "Check in with Ben" segment where we'll get to see/hear reports from Ben as he visits local diners from around the globe, informing us of his favorite dishes/flavors/eating spots. Ben also loves to share meals and clothing with those in need.
Jamie Rozell is our multi talented hair and makeup artists. Jamie is one of the absolute best stylists in Wilmington! Her years of beauty expertise, joyous and encouraging spirit has us thrilled to welcome her to our Urban Meals team! Jamie's love for her work and others brings out our best looks on and off camera, as she intentionally loves and encourages each of her clients.
Christi Ferretti is a host AND chef! She sizzles in the kitchen AND on camera! Christi's cooking skills are as magical as her incredible heart for others. We're so excited to have Christi as such a big part of Urban Meals Wilmington. Just wait to see what she has in store for you!
Marty and Jonathan Landau are such a powerful team of producers/directors right here in Wilmington! They have an incredible list of credits from producing/directing to talent, to locations, you name it! They are such a joy to work with and we are so excited to have them directing one of our episodes! Welcome aboard!
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Urban Meals is a locally produced cooking show where every meal we create is served to the homeless in our city. We provide sustainability in Wilmington NC by employing talented local out-of-work film crew, sharing delicious healthy meals with our city's homeless, advertising dynamic local chefs who go the extra mile and showcasing local non-profits. All of this brings awareness to the places you can volunteer, places you can go to find food & work, and places you can go to serve. This keeps our community moving positively, towards health & wellness, while also providing wonderful family-friendly entertainment consisting of mouth-watering recipes brought to us by phenomenal local Wilmington Chefs! Urban Meals is entertaining, fun, healthy, DELICIOUS television content that makes a productive difference in the community.
For 14 years I was a single mom of 3, on both the giving and receiving side of sharing meals. There is so much to be said about the healing power of food. I worked in the film industry for many years in the casting department and recently in the craft services department, having finally found my home in producing this important cooking show. When going to a food bank at a local church years ago to get groceries for me and my kids, I remember the feeling of relief as I watched loving people who didn't even know us, fill bags with nutritious food for a 2 yr old, 6 yr old, 10 yr old, and me. With all my heart I thanked them and said, "when I'm back on my feet, I'll pay it forward". God was with us then and continues to guide us today. I've learned along this journey that giving and receiving are equally important for growth and healing for everyone. NOW is the time to help our Wilmington community. We have many out-of-work film crew, some with kids, who are struggling with unemployment and food insecurity. We have many unsheltered people in Wilmington with no access to meals or beds. As of Feb 2023, our homeless are being forced to leave the library and will be ticketed/arrested for sleeping there. We don't have enough shelters in Wilmington. Where will they go? What will they eat? In March 2023 the Salvation army will be shut down in order to build a bigger facility, BUT the new Salvation Army won't open for 2 years, which will create MORE unsheltered in need of beds and meals. The time is now to produce this cooking show that will provide jobs, meals, and awareness to organizations in place to help our struggling neighbors and bring healing to our community. Let's work together in love to uplift and empower each other, to follow Jesus' teaching of His greatest commandment which is to love your neighbor as yourself. Let's change our city for the better. This tv show came to me through prayer, so I can't wait to see what God does with Urban Meals.
For 6 months we've been in the pre-production stages for our 2023 episodes working on a 100% volunteer basis, organizing, securing locations, local crew, local chefs, amazing recipes, and cooking styles from various cultures to be filmed and shared with the hungry right here in Wilmington. It's now time to begin the production (filming) phase. This crowdfunding campaign will allow us to move forward in hiring local artists and providing meals and resources to those often forgotten, bringing jobs, food, conversations, and healing to our community. We are so excited to start filming if/when we raise this money! Look up your favorite cooking show and you'll see it costs between $200,000.00 - $400,000.00 per episode! Well, our goal is to make this amazing season for just $5,000.00 per episode, including all crew, equipment, and food. Sound impossible? It will definitely be challenging. In all honesty, we need to raise $100,000.00 this year to be able to produce the episodes needed. So we'll start with this production campaign through the amazing Seed and Spark team! We are so thankful for Seed and Spark! If/when we raise enough to start production, we'll begin our filming, then we'll do a luau fundraiser in the summer to continue more filming, and then a post-production campaign later in the fall. When Urban Meals Wilmington is complete, we'll pitch to networks with the hope of being picked up and aired on a regular basis so that we may continue providing jobs, food/conversation with those on the streets, and bring healing to Wilmington consistently....and eventually to our neighboring communities in need.
As a contributor to this very important show, we'll be inviting you to watch the finished product with us at special events, premiere parties, private screenings, and public screenings at local venues and theatres depending on your level of involvement. We've provided an incentives page for you to view and decide how you'd like to get involved. Please pray about it, choose a level of support that's right for you, and share with your friends and family for the 30 days this campaign will be active. When we reach the 80% level, we'll get a green light and be eligible to accept your contributions. Making your pledge today will get us one step closer to production. THANK YOU for your heart and support. As soon as we reach this level of our campaign goal we'll be able to hire our crew and start filming! Let's make it happen, Wilmington!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Camera and Monitor
Costs $2,800
Professional equipment is crucial when filming quality productions with the intent of pitching.
Locations
Costs $1,500
Location filming/permits costs.
Wardrobe, HMU
Costs $500
Wardrobe, hair & makeup add professional visuals in telling the story of our chefs.
External Drives
Costs $300
We need 3 external drives for footage storage.
Props and Set Dressing
Costs $500
Props & set dressing are essential to establish the scene's authenticity, context & set the mood.
Sound and Lighting
Costs $1,000
Professional sound & lighting make or break a show. We want Urban Meals to be well seen & heard.
Food
Costs $2,500
Grocery gift cards needed for meals we cook & serve to hundreds of homeless & also to feed our crew.
Crew Travel
Costs $1,500
90% of our crew is from Wilmington. 10% will be traveling from Charlotte. Hotel rooms & gas needed.
Our Incredible Cast & Crew
Costs $10,400
This will cover a small % of what the crew normally would receive.The rest of their time is probono.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Jeff Turner is a brilliant corporate video director/creator for various corporations, specializing in creating live animations videos for team training. Jeff also has a huge heart for those in need, and makes time to share breakfast with the homeless every Thursday morning through Rice N Beans Wilmington. We are so blessed to have him as our director of Urban Meals Wilmington, Episode 1! The chef Jeff will be filming for this episode is so unique! I can't wait to meet him in person and see how he does what he does!
Logan Siu is a talented actor/singer/musician who can be seen in such shows as Dog Gone, Outer Banks season 1 & 2, ALong for the Ride, as well as upcomoing films Somethin' Here, and Black Spartans. In between film jobs you can sometimes catch Logan at Thalian Hall performing theatre shows such as Footloose (Chuck Cranston), and Grease (Johnny Casino). We are so excited to welcome Logan to our team as a guest host for episode 3! You won't want to miss this one! There will be traditional Polynesian cooking and dance involved! Thats all I can say for now. Stay tuned!
Honey Head films' Kristi Ray and Erika are an incredible female lead production team whom we are so excited to hire! Their story is inspiring and their talent is admirable. They work creatively to build a team of talented local film professionals, with a focus on female filmmakers in our Wilmington area to guide towards fruition of their dreams and goals in this ever-changing industry. These ladies are highly respected among Wilmington locals not only for their tremeous talent but also for their compassion and strength.
Phil Bebe of Go North Films is an amazing film director from Charlotte, NC who we are stoked to hire for Ep 4! We saw a short film called SHOES, directed by this talented filmmaker and our hearts were moved tremendously. Phil's creative eye for art, camera angles and lighting, mesh together with his heart for the unsheltered in a way that brings the hard truth to tug on your heartstrings during this eye opening short. We are so blessed to have Phil as part of the Urban Meals Season 3 team.
Michael Siu is a gifted musician and music composer who brings so much to our team! Not only does Michael play the piano, guitar, ukulele, and bongos, he also cooks professionally! We are so excited to have Michael and his original music as part of Urban Meals Wilmington! I'm secretly hoping he'll allow us to film him cooking up some gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free dinners one day too. Stay tuned (no pun intended) for some dynamic music, and hopefully a delicious healthy recipe or 2!
Thurman Burgess is our senior consultant and a man of many talents. If you want to know anything about Wilmington's history, today's current events, or life in general, take a seat on Thurman's front porch for hours of thought provoking converstaions, laughs, wisdom, entertainment, prayer, and heart. We are so fortunate and truly blessed to have Thurman as one of our leaders.
Marty Siu - is the creator and producer of Urban Meals. While most of Marty's film credits are in the casting deartment, she felt lead by God to create Urban Meals, after spending time in prayer over how to use her gifts for filmmaking & heart for service. Marty's greatest joy is being a mom. Her greatest career goal is to produce a successful cooking show that not only features wonderful chefs/recipes, but also reaches those often forgotten, with God's love, great meals, and intentional converstations to promote peace, hope, and positive change.
Ben Yemba is an local actor who travels not only for film/tv but also travels all over the Country for his job as a brand ambassador, trying many different foods, drinks and sauces both new and old. We are thrilled to have our "Check in with Ben" segment where we'll get to see/hear reports from Ben as he visits local diners from around the globe, informing us of his favorite dishes/flavors/eating spots. Ben also loves to share meals and clothing with those in need.
Jamie Rozell is our multi talented hair and makeup artists. Jamie is one of the absolute best stylists in Wilmington! Her years of beauty expertise, joyous and encouraging spirit has us thrilled to welcome her to our Urban Meals team! Jamie's love for her work and others brings out our best looks on and off camera, as she intentionally loves and encourages each of her clients.
Christi Ferretti is a host AND chef! She sizzles in the kitchen AND on camera! Christi's cooking skills are as magical as her incredible heart for others. We're so excited to have Christi as such a big part of Urban Meals Wilmington. Just wait to see what she has in store for you!
Marty and Jonathan Landau are such a powerful team of producers/directors right here in Wilmington! They have an incredible list of credits from producing/directing to talent, to locations, you name it! They are such a joy to work with and we are so excited to have them directing one of our episodes! Welcome aboard!