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October 31, 2006
A group of local women have a better chance of finding good jobs thanks to an educational partnership that teaches the basics of the food service industry. The Food Service class, which has been held once or twice a year since 2002, is a collaborative effort between Edgecombe Community College; Crossworks, an agency that targets hunger and malnutrition; and the Bassett Center, a shelter for homeless families in Rocky Mount. Course work focuses on sanitation procedures, safety, work efficiency, tools of the trade, recipes and measuring, and preparation of basic meals. Typically, classes number from eight to 12 students. The most recent Food Service class met this fall. Students were clients from Tri-County Industries, an agency in Rocky Mount that serves disabled and disadvantaged individuals, and the class was customized to meet their unique needs. For four weeks, students met daily in the kitchen of the Bassett Center. During a recent visit to a class, several students were decorating a cake while others were making crescent rolls and stirring pasta. The goal is to prepare students to work in restaurants and other professional kitchens. “This is good experience,” observed one student. “I already knew a little about cooking, but here I’m learning how to work in a kitchen the right way.” “I’ve learned how to cook beef, pork chops, and chicken,” added another student, “and now I’m ready to look for a job as a cook.” “The class is a shining example of how organizations can work together to achieve a common goal,” says Marie Inscore, director of special programs/continuing education at ECC. “We pay for the instruction, Crossworks provides the instructor, the Bassett Center provides the kitchen for teaching, and other local agencies send us students,” she explains. Students are referred by groups such as Tri-County Industries, Edgecombe and Nash social services, Workforce Development and Training Center, and S.W.I.M. Network. “We’ve also had a few students who were walk-ins,” says Debra Long, founder and executive director of Crossworks. Long, a registered dietician who holds a master’s degree in nutrition science, serves as the instructor of the Food Service class. “There are people in our community who would like to enter the workforce, but they have no job skills and few prospects of finding a job because of their education level or lack of aptitude,” she explains. “Food service covers the gamut. There are entry-level jobs that require low aptitude, and at the other end of the career ladder are jobs such as a personal chef that might pay six figures.” While students are learning job skills, they also are learning basic skills. Most of the Food Service classes have included English and math course work at Edgecombe Community College. “If you can succeed in food service, you can handle anything,” Long says. “You have to stand on your feet for long hours and work in a hot kitchen in stressful situations. Also, you have to be there, rain or shine.” Students who have completed the class have gone on to work at restaurants, local schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. Long points to a special success story, a young woman who entered the
class with no experience in cooking. She also had never held a job. Following
completion of the course, she worked for a year at N.C. Wesleyan College;
now she works at Hospira. “The Food Service class gets these students
in the door; it can really be a ladder to something great,” Long
adds.
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