A GREAT OPPORTUNITY WITH THE FOODWORKS PROGRAM

Through a unique collaboration with the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), the FoodWorks Program offers a fresh start to low-income individuals with 12 weeks of intense culinary training. FoodWorks students learn basic cooking skills while converting fresh produce and other perishable foods into healthy meals for distribution to those in need.

Located at Maryland Food Bank headquarters, the program training takes place in classrooms and in the Charles T. Bauer Community Kitchen, a state-of-the-art culinary facility opened in 2010. As part of the program, Maryland Food Bank chefs guide students through a curriculum that includes fundamental culinary techniques, food safety and job-training.

What Do FoodWorks Students Get?

• 12 weeks professional training— students learn basic culinary techniques, discipline in the workplace, and professionalism.

• ServSafe® certification— this certificate confirms to prospective employers that the graduates are trained in food safety.

• Job placement— the food bank works to find full-time employment for FoodWorks graduates.

With guidance and support from the Maryland Food Bank, FoodWorks graduates have been hired at leading restaurants and institutional caterers, including Woodberry Kitchen, the Horseshoe Casino, Compass group, Guinness, and Baltimore County Public Schools. FoodWorks graduates earn well above the minimum wage.

“I have learned things that you don’t learn from working in a restaurant, like humility. Preparing food to help someone else is very meaningful.”

Jeremy Whitley, FoodWorks Graduate

IMPACT

FoodWorks has produced 377 graduates since 2010.
FoodWorks has prepared more than 1.87M meals for our neighbors in need.
60% of participants graduate from the FoodWorks Program.
80% of graduating students are placed in jobs within the hospitality/culinary industry.
Students make an average starting salary of $14/hour.

Giving Back to the Community

While FoodWorks students are training for a new career, every moment of their time in the kitchen is spent preparing meals for hungry Marylanders. Students work exclusively with food that has been donated to the Maryland Food Bank, turning perishable donations that might otherwise go to waste into nutritious homemade meals.

Because FoodWorks students work with such a wide variety of ingredients, they learn many different culinary techniques and are prepared to adapt to real world experiences. Prior to graduation, students undergo job-interview training and receive assistance in their career search from the Maryland Food Bank.

The Maryland Food Bank has proudly hired some of its very own FoodWorks graduates. These employees produce government subsidized meals for food insecure children in Maryland.