Food Jobs Work Foundation is a nonprofit corporation with the State of Arkansas, and a 501(c)(3) private foundation organization (EIN #83-2719140) under which we have operated all activities since 2018. We have also launched Food Jobs Work as a separate nonprofit corporation with the State of Arkansas, and a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN #61-1999593). Beginning in 2023, we will move operations of our training program and feeding programs to the public charity, with plans to use the foundation to fund student needs and businesses in the future.
Food Jobs Work began in 2016 as a project to help the staffing needs of the hospitality industry in Arkansas. At the end of 2018, Food Jobs Work became an independent nonprofit organization, dedicated to serving adults with barriers to employment (those affected by poverty, homelessness, addiction or incarceration) through culinary workforce training. Through partnerships with Our House shelter and Rock City Reentry, the class has graduated over 100 students and assisted with most of them gaining employment in the industry. In 2022, we began a USDA Food Program sponsorship, allowing us to serve others in our community with food prepared by our own staff and students.
Our training curriculum consists of equal parts kitchen and classroom. In the kitchen, students learn knife skills, sanitation, workspace management, task and time management, and other skills critical to working in a professional kitchen. Students learn culinary skills such as knife work, sauté, basic butchery, roasting, pasta, grains, stocks, sauces, and much more. In the classroom, students review in detail the soft skills and ethics needed to be successful in work and in life, including responsibility, leadership, conflict resolution and communication skills. These are taught using a trauma-informed curriculum, enabling students to move beyond their past and upward to success.
Students come away with a ServSafe Food Handler certification; "First Impressions" Customer Service Certification from the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism (offered in partnership with local customer service expert and coach Scott Sudduth); and skilled case management support from Our House and Rock City Reentry.
Program Update:
The Food Jobs Work Foundation has announced its sponsorship of the USDA Food Program during the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2023. Meals will be available at no charge or at a reduced charge to enrolled persons at the following sites:
- Easterseals Arkansas Adult Training & Wellness Center, 14901 Cantrell Rd., Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Easterseals Arkansas Developmental Preschool, 3920 Woodland Heights Road, Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Boys and Girls Club of Faulkner County, 1405 Robins St, Conway, Arkansas.
- Wetherington Boys and Girls Club, 1212 Jim Wetherington Pl, North Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Thrasher Boys and Girls Club, 3301 S State St, Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Our Club at Our House, 302 E. Roosevelt Rd., Little Rock, Arkansas.
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
Food Jobs Work began in 2016 as a project to help the staffing needs of the hospitality industry in Arkansas. At the end of 2018, Food Jobs Work became an independent nonprofit organization, dedicated to serving adults with barriers to employment (those affected by poverty, homelessness, addiction or incarceration) through culinary workforce training. Through partnerships with Our House shelter and Rock City Reentry, the class has graduated over 100 students and assisted with most of them gaining employment in the industry. In 2022, we began a USDA Food Program sponsorship, allowing us to serve others in our community with food prepared by our own staff and students.
Our training curriculum consists of equal parts kitchen and classroom. In the kitchen, students learn knife skills, sanitation, workspace management, task and time management, and other skills critical to working in a professional kitchen. Students learn culinary skills such as knife work, sauté, basic butchery, roasting, pasta, grains, stocks, sauces, and much more. In the classroom, students review in detail the soft skills and ethics needed to be successful in work and in life, including responsibility, leadership, conflict resolution and communication skills. These are taught using a trauma-informed curriculum, enabling students to move beyond their past and upward to success.
Students come away with a ServSafe Food Handler certification; "First Impressions" Customer Service Certification from the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism (offered in partnership with local customer service expert and coach Scott Sudduth); and skilled case management support from Our House and Rock City Reentry.
Program Update:
The Food Jobs Work Foundation has announced its sponsorship of the USDA Food Program during the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2023. Meals will be available at no charge or at a reduced charge to enrolled persons at the following sites:
- Easterseals Arkansas Adult Training & Wellness Center, 14901 Cantrell Rd., Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Easterseals Arkansas Developmental Preschool, 3920 Woodland Heights Road, Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Boys and Girls Club of Faulkner County, 1405 Robins St, Conway, Arkansas.
- Wetherington Boys and Girls Club, 1212 Jim Wetherington Pl, North Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Thrasher Boys and Girls Club, 3301 S State St, Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Our Club at Our House, 302 E. Roosevelt Rd., Little Rock, Arkansas.
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
- mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or - fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or - email:
Program.Intake@usda.gov