Shonnate went on to receive her G.E.D and continues to work full-time in her position at the Boys and Girls Club. The Greater Chicago Food Depository supplies the food for the classroom instruction, which is held at the Association House, a local Chicago service agency. The prepared food is then served in the cafeteria that the Community Kitchen participants run. Additionally, prepared food is delivered to nearby agencies that feed hungry children and adults. Each person who enrolls in the program is trained in basic food preparation and presentation and prepared for state sanitation certification testing by trained chefs.
Participants learn to make everything from salads and sandwiches to shellfish entrees and stews.
Life and employment skills, including lessons in stress management, budgeting, establishing and using credit, developing a resume, interviewing tactics, and positive workplace conduct, supplement the kitchen training. The food bank collaborates with OAI, which has extensive experience in helping place low-income and disadvantaged people into jobs. I was there everyday and never late - it's the same way at work. The program teaches you how to dress, express yourself - it prepares you for life. These requirements contribute to the success of the program.