NEWS - Non-Profit Organizations

12/07/2009 - Community Kitchen is an initiative of America's Second Harvest to address job-training needs in our area. Community Kitchen offers a concise, 18-week course during which students learn life skills along with culinary skills. They spend nine weeks in the classroom, preparing to obtain a GED if they do not have one, learning culinary theory and safety and acquiring practical skills such as budgeting, resume writing and job interviewing. They spend another nine weeks in the kitchen for hands-on culinary experience. The program cites a 68 percent increase in year-to-date enrollment for 2009 compared to same time frame for 2008.

To date, 52 individuals have graduated the program, and 84 percent of the graduates obtained ServeSafe certification on the first try, giving them the ability to earn a living wage. Eighteen percent of the graduates report having new jobs since finishing the course.

The food prepared by Community Kitchen students on a daily basis provides hot, nutritious meals to the food bank's 34 Kids Cafe® sites throughout our community. More than 74,000 school-aged children are at risk for hunger in our area, and more than 21,000 of these children live in Chatham County. America's Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia has been leading initiatives to reduce childhood hunger since the creation of Kids Cafe® in 1989. Kids Cafe® has grown to offer more than 2,500 hot, evening meals for children at-risk for hunger in Chatham and surrounding counties. Each child also receives homework assistance or tutoring to improve his or her academic achievement. Many of these children also participate in cultural enrichment activities or team sports to help build positive social skills.

For more information about alleviating hunger in our community, please visit www.helpendhunger.org or call 912-236-6750.