Kitchen Thyme, Richmond’s first commercial kitchen for rent by the hour, recently opened its first location at 7801-25 W. Broad St. Kitchen Thyme is two commercial kitchen spaces under one roof and will be made available to food trucks and carts, caterers, chefs, and farmers’ market vendors and bakers. For the home-based chef, Kitchen Thyme offers a dream kitchen as well as a space to host parties including a full range of top-of-the-line equipment featuring Sub-Zero™ and Wolf™ appliances. Both kitchens are certified under the VDH and VDACS. Cold and frozen storage is also available for rent. Kitchen Thyme’s kitchens will be available for rent 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Its front office is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.kitchenthymerva.com.

Seven years of the friendly but fierce rivalry between Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia has yielded food and funds for more than 236,000 meals for the hungry in Central Virginia via the annual “Hokies vs. ‘Hoos” food drive. MARTIN’S, which hosted donation bins for the first time last year, has become the “Food Fight” title sponsor.

This year’s competition will be held at all Richmond-area MARTIN’S supermarkets during the week of the big UVA vs. Virginia Tech basketball showdown in Blacksburg on February 21. Donation bins will be set up inside stores from Feb. 20-26. MARTIN’s will also afford customers the opportunity to make monetary donations at the registers this year.

G. William (Bill) Norris, Jr., of Henrico, recently was appointed to the Capital Region Workforce Investment Board (Resource). Resource is a federally funded workforce investment board that strives to increase private sector employment opportunities.

St. Joseph's Villa recently received a grant of $25,000 from Capital One in support of the Villa's Career and Transition Services program. The funds will be used to create a Culinary Arts Training Center for at-risk youth being served at St. Joseph's Villa.

The Culinary Arts Training Center will enable the Villa's Career and Transition Services to provide an array of on-campus trainings and internships in food services for young people in their last years of high school who have significant disabilities and/or academic and behavioral challenges. These students share a need for training and
guided experience not only in how to do a particular job but in "soft skills" - work habits, leadership skills, teamwork, and attitudes - crucial to success.

The Henrico Humane Society was one of nine organizations nationwide selected recently to receive a $5,000 grant through the second annual CarMax Cares Community Service Award program.

The organization received the money thanks to the efforts of local CarMax sales operations manager Melissa Golden, who has volunteered with HHS for the past 14 years, serving as president and secretary during that time, as well as fundraising chair for the past 12 years.

Exit First Realty recently announced its selection as the exclusive Homes for Heroes real estate agency in Richmond. Homes for Heroes was founded in 2002 by a group of Minnesota business owners who created a nationwide network of realtors, mortgage lenders, title companies and appraisers whose sole purpose is to offer savings to community heroes when buying or selling a home. As a participant in the program, Exit First Realty will offer full real estate services at a discounted rate to local heroes in metro Richmond. Savings will include discounts on realtor fees, loan fees, title fees, closing costs, and home inspections. Homes for Heroes has already served hundreds of local heroes including Richmond and Henrico police officers. For more information, call 527-3948 or visit http://www.homesforheroes.com.

Family, friends, staff and vendors at Free Agents Marketing gathered yesterday for a "pre-plunge" party to prepare for this weekend's Polar Plunge Winter Festival in Virginia Beach. A dozen or more "Freeze Agents" practiced for this Saturday's plunge by jumping into baby pools of icy water in the Free Agents Marketing parking lot, located off West Broad St. near Innsbrook.

Pediatric Dentistry@VCU, located on the MCV Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, will offer free services to children in need of dental care that do not have dental insurance on Give Kids a Smile Day. The event will take place Friday, Feb. 3 from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Wood Memorial Building, 521 N. 11th St., Suite 315. Pediatric Dentistry@VCU and its Pediatric Dental Specialist will provide exams, cleanings, X-rays, fillings, extractions and minor restorations for children ages 0-18 years old. Give Kids a Smile Day, created by the American Dental Association, is an annual focus of National Children’s Dental Health Month and is observed every year during the month of February. The program was designed to provide education, preventative and restorative oral healthcare for children. For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call 828-9095. Walk-ins are welcome but are not guaranteed to be seen. Appointments are strongly encouraged.