Project Grant 23A60CP000035

ETA COMMUNITY PROJECTS PROJECT ABSTRACT RECIPIENT NAME SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL FLORIDA PROJECT TITLE CULINARY TRAINING PROGRAM FUNDING REQUEST 775,000 CONGRESSIONAL SPONSOR REP. VAL DEMINGS REQUESTED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE 36 MONTHS PROJECT LOCATION ORLANDO, FLORIDA, ORANGE COUNTY PROJECT PURPOSE AND GOALS THE PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT IS IMPROVE THE WORKFORCE READINESS OF PEOPLE FROM POPULATIONS IN OUR COMMUNITY WITH THE GREATEST NEEDS TO HELP ENSURE THEIR LONG TERM EMPLOYABILITY AND FINANCIAL STABILITY AS WELL AS IMPROVE OUR PROGRAM CAPACITY TO MEET THE WORKFORCE NEEDS POST PANDEMIC. GOAL 1 IS TO PROVIDE IMMERSIVE HANDS ON CULINARY AND LIFE SKILLS TRAINING AND JOB PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADULTS THROUGH OUR CULINARY TRAINING PROGRAM. GOAL 2 IS TO ENHANCE THE CAPACITY OF OUR PROGRAM BY ACQUIRING NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE, EXPANDING PROGRAM CURRICULUM, REDESIGN THE PROGRAM MARKETING STRATEGY, AND CONDUCTING COMMUNITY RESEARCH TO DEVELOP A STRATEGIC PLAN TO GUIDE THE CULINARY TRAINING PROGRAM POST PANDEMIC.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED IMPLEMENT THE CULINARY TRAINING PROGRAM REACHING AT LEAST 9 COHORTS, OR ROUGHLY 120 STUDENTS. HIRE A NEW RESEARCH ASSISTANT TO CONDUCT COMMUNITY RESEARCH AND AID IN DEVELOPMENT OF A STRATEGIC PLAN WHICH WILL BEGIN IMPLEMENTATION IN THE LATTER PART OF YEAR 2 OR AT THE START OF YEAR 3. ENHANCE THE PROGRAM EVALUATION THROUGH NEW PROGRAM MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE. EXPAND THE PROGRAM S CULINARY CURRICULUM AND WORKSHOPS WITH THE INSTALLATION OF NEW FOOD SERVICE EQUIPMENT IN OUR KITCHEN TO INCREASE STUDENTS WORKFORCE READINESS. WORK WITH A MARKETING FIRM IN YEAR 1 TO DEVELOP A REBRANDING STRATEGY TO AID WITH OUTREACH AND RECRUITMENT EFFORTS. ACQUIRING A VAN WHICH WILL BE USED TO TRANSPORT COHORTS OFFSITE TO LOCAL RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS AS PART OF THE JOB AND LIFE SKILLS TRAINING COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAM. EXPECTED OUTCOMES APPROXIMATELY 120 STUDENTS WILL COMPLETE THE CULINARY TRAINING PROGRAM AND INCREASE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN THE CULINARY FIELD AS WELL AS INCREASE THEIR AWARENESS OF CRITICAL LIFE SKILLS. OURGRADUATION GOAL IS AT LEAST 80 FOR ALL STUDENTS AND A JOB PLACEMENT GOAL OF 90 FOR ALL STUDENTS THAT GRADUATE. THE RESEARCH ASSISTANT WILL IDENTIFY WHAT MOTIVATES YOUTH TO PURSUE A JOB IN THE CULINARY OR HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, THEIR AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF OPPORTUNITIES IN THE INDUSTRY, SKILL SETS THEY ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING, AND MORE LEADING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A 2 3 YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE CULINARY TRAINING PROGRAM. WITH AIRTABLE, THE CULINARY TRAINING PROGRAM WILL REPORT ON THE NUMBER OF NEW DATA SETS WE ARE ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY TRACK WHICH HAS YET TO BE DEFINED AS A RESULT OF THE NEW SOFTWARE. FOR THE NEW FOOD SERVICE EQUIPMENT PURCHASED FOR THE PROGRAM, SECOND HARVEST WILL REPORT ON THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM TO EVIDENCE THE EQUIPMENT USAGE. INCREASE THE REACH OF OUR MARKETING EFFORTS ACROSS CENTRAL FLORIDA. THE NEW PASSENGER VAN ENABLE THE COMPLETION OF AT LEAST 18 36 OFFSITE JOB AND LIFE SKILLS TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES DURING THE GRANT PERIOD INTENDED BENEFICIARIES THE CULINARY TRAINING PROGRAM FOCUSES ON TRAINING ADULTS THAT ARE BETWEEN 18 TO 65 YEARS OF AGE, FROM LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, AT RISK, AND OR UNDERSERVED AND UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS WITHIN THE CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMUNITY. THE PROGRAM WILL BE ABLE TO BENEFIT MORE STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY STUDENTS CONSIDERED YOUTH, AS A RESULT OF NEW STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE PROGRAM WHICH WILL INCORPORATE NEW RECRUITMENT METHODS. STUDENTS WILL BENEFIT FROM FEEDBACK FROM PROGRAM STAFF MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH ADVANCED TRACKING AND EVALUATION CAPABILITIES OF AIRTABLE. THE NEW MARKETING STRATEGY WILL ENHAN (SEE ATTACHMENT 1 STATEMENT OF WORK FOR CONTINUATION)