Through
years of feeding the hungry
in our neighborhood, the Haight
Ashbury Food Program has learned
that hunger is a direct result
of
poverty, and that
must be taken
to move beyond charity
and address
hunger's root causes.
Out of this belief, we developed
our Food Service Job Training
and Retention Project (FSJTRP).
Based upon the saying "Give
a person a fish, feed them for a
day - teach a person to fish, feed
them for a lifetime," the Food
Service Job Training and
Retention Project aims
to provide a pathway out of
poverty for homeless,
unemployed and impoverished
San Francisco residents.
The FSJTRP provides in-depth
assessment, training, job search,
job placement and job retention
services to 24 to 30 participants
per year.The job training portion
of the project consists of a
12-week intensive program
(32 hours per week) including
hands-on cooking, food service
theory classes, life skills and
individual and group counseling.
Participants in the project
receive the uniforms and tools
that will be necessary for their
future career in the food service
industry, as well as a small
weekly stipend.
Following graduation,
HAFP provides job
placement and job
retention services to assist
graduates with their transition
into self-sufficiency.
The results we've seen from the FSJTRP
have been absolutely astounding!
Job Training Project Statistics:
HAFPís Food Service Job Training Project (FSJTP) has
provided training to a total of 148 individuals through
twenty-one classes since its inception in 1997.
The range of FSJTP class size is 8 to 10 students. The
current class size is constrained only by the amount
of space in HAFPís kitchen.
All of these individuals were adults who faced multiple barriers
to employment in their lives, including homelessness, addictions,
mental health issues, single-parent families, low literacy levels
and language barriers, in addition to an extremely low income.
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81% of those who have graduated
(96 out of 118) have been employed, earning an overall
average starting wage of $10.85 / hour. During 2003, the
average placement wage was $11.52 / hour.
At least 66% (50 out of 76) of those graduates who
have been employed have retained employment for one
year or more.
Many of the graduates now return to volunteer on their
days off and some have even become donors!
Individuals interested in applying for
this project, or desiring more information,
may contact Stephen Browne,
our Job Training Manager, at stephen@thefoodprogram.org
or by calling our main office at
(415) 566.4158. (Also see Job
Training Project Documents - below.)
Job Training:
1525 Waller Street
San Francisco, CA. 94117
Phone 415.566.4158
Fax 415.682.3660
Job Training Project Documents (pdf):
Food
Service Job Training Application
Job
Training Fact Sheet
Job
Training Project 2003 - 2004 Statistics
SF
Chronicle Article February 04, 2004
SF
Chronicle Article December 24, 2003
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