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) includinghands-on cooking, food service theory classes, life skills andindividual 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:

HAFPÌs 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 HAFPÌs 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.

82.5% of those enrolled (122/148) completed the training and earned a graduation certificate – often the first thing that they have completed since grade school. In 2003, the amount of participants who graduated was a record high of 93%, with only 2 drop-outs.

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 Meghan Graber,
our Job Training Coordinator, at meghan@thefoodprogram.org or by calling our main office at (415) 503-4480.

(Also see Job Training Project Documents - below.)

Job Training and Resource Center:
270 Divisadero Street
San Francisco, CA. 94117
Phone (415) 503-4480
Fax (415) 503-4482

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