Triad Community Kitchen

A Recipe for Sucess
Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC's Triad Community Kitchen program offers a 10-week culinary curriculum at no charge to unemployed, underemployed and homeless individuals to prepare them for careers in the food service industry.  During their training, students also develop valuable life and professional skills to help them gain and sustain employment after graduation. As the students work to achieve their own self-sufficiency, they are serving their communities, producing ready-to-heat meals in bags for distribution to Second Harvest Food Bank partner agencies serving the hungry and others in need. Currently there are more than 175 graduates of this program.

How does it work?
Chef Jeff Bacon, Director and Excecutive Chef for the program, and certified guest chefs provide the classroom and kitchen training in the Second Harvest Food Bank warehouse. Each 10-week training session includes certification in Serv-Safe sanitation, basic culinary skills, knife skills, kitchen safety, mass food production, and "cook chill" technology training. Training includes instruction and activities designed to help ensure students are "workplace ready" and a one-week internship with a local food service organization or restaurant to help students gain "real world" job experience. Graduates may obtain further training, professional development and scholarship assistance with transferable credits applied to continued study at Guilford Technical Community College's Culinary program.

Triad Community Kitchen students use donated and purchased food during their course time to create vacuum-sealed, ready-to-heat meals in a bag for distribution to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC's partner agencies like soup kitchens, group homes and Kids Cafes.

Program partners and supporters
Partnerships with businesses, foundations and other generous organizations and individuals are critical to the on-going success of this unique program. Financial supporters for fiscal year 2007-2008 include Kate B. Reynolds Poor and Needy Division, The John W. and Anna H. Hanes Foundation, Sodexho Foundation and Wachovia Foundation.

Other program partners include:

- Goodwill Industries of Northwest NC provides screening and application process services.
- Forsyth County Department of Social Services acts as a referral partner.
- Guilford Technical Community College's Culinary School in Greensboro provides the textbooks and curriculum.
- American Culinary Federaton, Triad Chapter provides guest instructors.
- Area food service organizations and restaurants provide internship opportunities for students upon completion of the curriculum, job placement opportunities upon graduation and donated equipment when available.

Class Schedule

Application
Click here for a downloadable application form. All TCK applications must be submitted through Goodwill Industries of NWNC at 2701University Pkwy. Winston Salem, NC 27115. For more information, contact Rosa Williams at (336) 724-3621.

Catering
Triad Community Kitchen also has a catering program! For more information or to book TCK Catering for your next event,
click here for a downloadable brochure. Or click here for a downloadable catering menu.

Partner Agencies Prepared Meals Program
Triad Community Kitchen utilizes donated perishable foods to produce high quality, delicious and nutritious prepared meals, fully cooked and ready to heat for our partner agencies. Click here for a copy of the Prepared Meals Handling Agreement for Agencies.