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 program of Arkansas Food Jobs, a staffing agency and job board dedicated to the culinary and hospitality industry in the state. 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. We have also become the onsite meal provider for Youth Challenge, a 24/7 residential training program for at-risk youth, held on Camp Robinson in North Little Rock.
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 Scott Sudduth of the North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau); 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 beginning on January 3, 2022. Meals will be available at no charge or at a reduced charge to enrolled persons at the Easter Seals Adult Training & Wellness Center, 14901 Cantrell Rd., Little Rock, Arkansas. In accordance with Federal law and the United States Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
To file a complaint of discrimination write to U.S Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202)720-2600 (voice or TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339).
Food Jobs Work began in 2016 as a program of Arkansas Food Jobs, a staffing agency and job board dedicated to the culinary and hospitality industry in the state. 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. We have also become the onsite meal provider for Youth Challenge, a 24/7 residential training program for at-risk youth, held on Camp Robinson in North Little Rock.
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 Scott Sudduth of the North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau); 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 beginning on January 3, 2022. Meals will be available at no charge or at a reduced charge to enrolled persons at the Easter Seals Adult Training & Wellness Center, 14901 Cantrell Rd., Little Rock, Arkansas. In accordance with Federal law and the United States Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
To file a complaint of discrimination write to U.S Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202)720-2600 (voice or TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339).