Food Prep & Baking Job Training & Placement
The heart of The Bread Project is the Food Prep & Baking Job Training & Placement program. Over the years, we have had the honor of helping thousands of participants break down the barriers they face to landing a life changing job. Through our program, we help them overcome obstacles and build a brighter future for themselves, their families, and their communities.
The program is an intensive five weeks, where trainees learn their way around a commercial kitchen to prepare and cook food at scale. In addition to the hands-on hours in the kitchen, they also learn the soft skills needed to land and keep a job. Resume writing, conflict resolution, and interviewing techniques are all taught. Lastly, graduates earn their California ServSafe Food Handler certification upon completion, making them attractive ready-to-work applicants in the food service industry.
“I had no experience before this…” said graduate Antoine Davis. “I learned how to use heavy machinery, I learned how to be a team player.”
Davis, who served over 5 years in prison, was able to immediately turn his newfound skills into a real job, finding work after graduation. That’s not an anomaly, but the norm: 85 percent of graduates find work within 30-60 days of graduation. Those jobs last too, with 85 percent retention rates after three and eight months.
For some, like graduate James Marrable, being a part of The Bread Project hasn’t just helped him gain job skills, it has helped turn his life around.
“I entered the system at 17. Ever since 2016, I’ve been incarcerated, in and out, year after year,” said Marrable. “Since being with The Bread Project, this is the longest I’ve not been incarcerated.”
Support for students doesn’t end when they graduate. The Bread Project follows students for 12 months after graduation, providing continued job placement assistance, career coaching, application assistance and more. A growing alumni network offers support to graduates as well. Even after 12 months, The Bread Project remains a resource for graduates in their times of need. Building that sense of community is an important part of the training program.
Yemeni immigrant Entersar Alshargabi found a second family with The Bread Project.
“I feel when we work with them in the training [we are] one family, and one team,” she said.
Much like a good meal, The Bread Project brings people together. Each class hosts people of all ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities together to work towards a common goal. At $7,000 per student, our training program relies on the generosity of donors to empower participants like Antoine, James, and Entersar. The training is free to all enrollees.
If you’d like to learn more or support our programs, please visit our website at www.breadproject.org.
