Job Training

Poverty’s not about lack of talent. It’s about lack of resources. It’s cyclical: most people are poor because they were born poor. One way to break the cycle is to provide people with training for meaningful careers where they have the ability to grow and succeed. And it just so happens that the food service industry has a constant and growing need for skilled employees.

Since 1998, Second Helpings has used surplus and perishable food to train underprivileged people for meaningful careers. We use a portion of the food we rescue to conduct our Culinary Job Training program, an intensive, free, 10-week job course designed to help disadvantaged people become professionals in the culinary arts.

Since our founding, Second Helpings has trained hundreds of people and successfully placed over 90 percent of our graduates in positions upon their completion of our program. The average starting wage is $9.25 an hour.

Our students receive additional advice and support through our partnership with the John Boner Center, which provides job counselors two days each week to help place our students. Once the students graduate, they often find permanent employment with one of our employment partners, including Clarian Health, Aramark, and Crystal Catering.

Our own full-time culinary instructor, Carl Conway, teaches the classes. Guest chefs incorporate hands-on kitchen work, lectures, videos, classroom activities and field trips.

Graduates receive three credits from the culinary program at Ivy Tech Community College, a certificate of achievement from the State of Indiana, and ServSafe Certification.

For more information about how our Culinary Job Training program is helping to break the cycle of poverty, contact our director of training at at carl@secondhelpings.org or fill out our online job training application.

> Online job training application.