The New Hampshire Food Bank has embraced the old proverb: give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
The Food Bank has begun a new program that trains unemployed and underemployed people for jobs in the food service industry.
New Hampshire Public Radio’s Dan Gorenstein reports.
Apart from a 2 ½ foot fork that hangs on one wall, 11 students sit in a non-descript room at the New Hampshire Food Bank in Manchester.
It’s the first day of their eight week culinary training course.
Chef Jayson McCarter asks his new students to introduce themselves.
TAPE MONTAGE: My name is Wayne Richmond...I’ve had a drug problem most of my life.
:48 my name is Justin Sammard, and I am recovering from mental illness.
2:50 my name is Kenneth Smart Jr.....my most recent job was being a dishwasher for the Derryfield...I had to end up quitting b/c I made some poor decisions.
Most everybody in the room tells McCarter how life has knocked them around.
Part of what attracts folks to the program Recipe for Success is that it isn’t just learning to cut carrots or prepare pasta.
The goal is to get students- all either unemployed or earning meager wages- into better paying jobs.
McCarter understands that, so he tries to deliver a practical education.
T.815
1:57 I can train somebody really quickly how to make this dish or that dish. But I can’t train them quickly how to think on their feet. What happens if you need 50 portions of this one entrée, and half of your chicken went bad.
McCarter says after 260 hours of kitchen time, after food safety certification and positive reinforcement he brings in chefs from nearby restaurants.
T.798
3:19 they actually got a chance to work with students...they were all really surprised how fast they were able to get things done. Showing that to them in advance is going to go a long way in getting these folks jobs.
Eight of the first ten students to graduate found work within two weeks.
One of them is 32-year old Jason Rivers.
Sfx: restaurant
Rivers works here at the high-end Commercial St. Fishery in Manchester.
He bakes bread, makes deserts and oversees the fried foods.
Sfx: sizzle, sizzle baby!
Before the restaurant, Rivers worked for a group home.
There he learned to cook things like stuffed peppers with hamburger and canned chili.
He says it’s wasn’t the kind of resume that got him noticed by restaurant managers.
T.807
13:32 I felt like this program gave me a chance to open a door. Whereas if this program wasn’t here I would kind of be floundering around. And wouldn’t be able to get in b/c I’d be competing against people who had been in the industry.
The New Hampshire Food Bank collects perishibles- much of it meat, poultry and fish- that can’t be distributed.
But instead of good food going to waste, McCarter and his students use it to make meals for kids at the Boys and Girls Club in Manchester.
15:58...when you see a little boy come up for seconds and thirds, and he can’t look you in the eye, but he’ll come up and shake your hand and say thank you. It brings a tear to your eye. There’s people out there who are hungry.
The most recent Recipe for Success class graduated earlier this month.
But with the economic downturn, it’s getting harder to place students.
At the same time, more and more people are applying to the program.
David Roberts knows how tough it is to find work.
He’s been looking for the right job for over a year.
He’s so excited, he’s already made up a list of dishes he wants to learn how to prepare.
Roberts says he’s got plans to open up a little breakfast and lunch place eventually.
TAPE: Duck....I would like to learn how to cook duck. Cause I heard duck is really good....I tried Sheppard’s pie once, I didn’t succeed. So I am hoping this class will help me make a good Sheppard’s pie, b/c I heard people like Sheppard’s pie. Me, I am not one for mixing hamburger, and mashed potatoes and corn together...but other people, that’s how they like it.
When I ask Roberts what he’ll be thinking about this Thanksgiving he says, ‘Monday, coming back to class.’
For NPR News, I’m DG.
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