Providing Pathways Through Workforce Development

In a world where opportunity often feels out of reach for those facing barriers to employment, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina’s Culinary Workforce Development Program offers a pathway to success. The program provides education and employment sponsorship for individuals who are unemployed, underemployed or justice-involved through partnerships with Craven Community College, Central Carolina Community College and Cape Fear Community College.

The Culinary Fundamentals course provides more than just basic kitchen skills; it equips individuals with life skills, mentoring and access to resources that lay the foundation for a sustainable career. At its core, the program aims to help students acquire not only the technical skills needed to advance their careers but also impart the work ethic required in a real-world environment.

Emily Kraft, the Food Bank’s director of community outreach, oversees several of the organization’s initiatives, including workforce development programming. She said that Culinary Fundamentals was originally designed by CFCC as a continuing education class that took place on campus, and many of those enrolled were retirees wanting to expand their catalog of recipes. As the partnership with the food bank evolved, the decision was made to focus more on workforce development for those facing barriers to employment and move the class to the commercial kitchen at the food bank’s new facility that opened in 2023.

Culinary instructor Oscar Zeno took CFCC’s original course outline and condensed what was a 16-week course into a 10-week one with the help of the food bank’s chef, Kenneth Pohlman. Because the food bank kitchen is designed to create grab-and-go meals for its on-site market and disaster relief meals, Zeno and Pohlman have been working closely to coordinate efforts to prep and package meals to distribute in Western North Carolina.

“It’s been very gratifying,” Oscar Zeno said of his position, which allows him to help others on a number of levels.

Zeno said that Pohlman tells him what needs to be prepped each week, and he structures the classes around those ingredients, so everything is used efficiently.

From the moment students arrive on day one, expectations are set. Accountability is a key element of the program, and Zeno makes it clear: This is an opportunity that comes with responsibility. He expects the class to be on time, be present and treat the course like a real job. Instilling the idea that success in the workplace depends on reliability and professionalism is as important as the kitchen skills themselves, which are designed to help students pass the ServSafe certification exam.

Qualifying students receive scholarships for tuition assistance as well as cost-of-living support, weekly food boxes, assistance with SNAP, Medicaid and Energy Assistance enrollment and access to community resources for housing, clothing, food and mental health services.

What sets this program apart is that it invests in every facet of its participants’ growth. They learn kitchen sanitation practices along with how to chop and sauté, but they also develop critical life skills like time management, teamwork and self-discipline.

Kraft said that for many, this is their first experience of someone holding them to a professional standard while also genuinely rooting for their success. The result is a cohort that leaves the program not only equipped with basic culinary skills but with the confidence and discipline to succeed in any work environment.

The impact of this program, however, goes beyond the individual. Local restaurants and kitchens might benefit from a larger pool of workers who have basic kitchen skills and understand the importance of showing up, being accountable and working hard. For an industry that is constantly struggling to hire and retain reliable workers, the program has the potential to help create a pipeline to help combat staffing shortages. While Kraft has implemented incentivized follow-up surveys to help track where program graduates land, with only about twelve graduates thus far, it’s soon to have substantial data on how many are going on to jobs in hospitality.

“My favorite part is hearing all the different paths that people take,” Kraft said. “Regardless of if they continue down the culinary path or not, they’ve still gained some really valuable skills to take wherever their career path leads them.”