Oct 2, 2015

The Maryland Food Bank is well known for providing food to people in need through its many programs. One of those programs, FoodWorks, not only helps reduce hunger, it also develops culinary skills in the aspiring chefs preparing the meals. Through a partnership with the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), the Maryland Food Bank offers 12 weeks of training in culinary arts to low-income people. Scholarships from the organization eliminate a financial barrier for many.

: Left to right, Felecia Wilson, 21, Essex, Jasmine Bond, 26, Landsdowne, Malik Cheeks, 18, Randallstown and Melvin Tenney, 59, NW Baltimore, work in the Charles T. Bauer Community Kitchen. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

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: Left to right, Malik Cheeks, 18, Randallstown, and Jasmine Bond, 26, Landsdowne, share a light moment while participating in the Maryland Food Bank’s FoodWorks program. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Jasper Sterling II, 25, Mitchellville, selects potatoes to be prepared. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Malik Cheeks, 18, Randallstown, works in the Charles T. Bauer Community Kitchen at the Maryland Food Bank. Cheeks is a student in the FoodWorks program, a collaboration with the Community College of Baltimore County. He says people liked the food he prepared for teacher appreciation week at his high school. “It inspired me to do more. I didn’t think I’d end up here. It’s for a good cause, too.” Cheeks and other students are preparing donated food for soup kitchens, homeless shelters and food pantries while gaining culinary experience. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Manny Robinson, Executive Chef, Maryland Food Bank, speaks to students in Maryland Food Bank’s FoodWorks program about food safety. The program is a collaboration with the Community College of Baltimore County that teaches low-income students culinary techniques in a 12-week course as they work toward certification in food safety and job placement. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Left to right, Melvin Tenney, 59, NW Baltimore, and Malik Cheeks, 18, Randallstown, cut potatoes. They are students in Maryland Food Bank’s FoodWorks program, a collaboration with the Community College of Baltimore County. They prepare donated food for soup kitchens, homeless shelters and food pantries while gaining culinary experience. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Brandice Gary, 21, Park Heights, spreads cooked potatoes on a tray to cool. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Images of students in Maryland Food Bank’s FoodWorks program, are reflected in ladles hanging over a prep area. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Left to right, Brandice Gary, 21, Park Heights, and Felecia Wilson, 21, Essex, students in Maryland Food Bank’s FoodWorks program, listen as sous chef Rich Lewis, speaks with them before they start their morning session in the kitchen. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: John Shaw, 55, Belair-Edison, is a student in the Maryland Food Bank’s FoodWorks program, a collaboration with the Community College of Baltimore County. They prepare donated food for soup kitchens, homeless shelters and food pantries. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Melvin Tenney, 59, NW Baltimore, cuts potatoes. Students in Maryland Food Bank’s FoodWorks program, a collaboration with the Community College of Baltimore County, prepare donated food for soup kitchens, homeless shelters and food pantries while gaining culinary experience. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Felecia Wilson, 21, Essex, takes a close look at the salmon a classmate is sauteing. Wilson says her grandfather was a chef. “He has since passed away. It’s something I can do to still be around him.” (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Rich Lewis, sous chef at the Maryland Food Bank, holds a morning meeting with FoodWorks students at the white board. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: David Jones, 69, Landsdowne, listens as Manny Robinson, Executive Chef, Maryland Food Bank, talks about and demonstrates how to separate the skin from a salmon fillet and divide it into portions. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Malik Cheeks, 18, Randallstown, sniffs a piece of salmon, noting its lack of a fishy smell as Jasmine Bond, 26, Landsdowne, watches. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Jasmine Bond, 26, Landsdowne, talks with classmates as she samples the salmon they prepared. Bond’s asirations are to enroll in baking and pastry arts at a local university and open a shop to sell her creations by 2017. She loves the cakes created by Duff Goldman and Buddy Valastro. “Baking is my life. This is what I want to do. This is my passion,” she says. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

Taking the course and working means a long day for Brandice Gary, 21, Park Heights, who works 18-hour days. “I told myself if I can do this, I can do anything.” But a benefit for a long day comes with Gray knowing “The food I cook doesn’t go to waste. It’s not for show. It’s for feeding people.”

Manny Robinson, Executive Chef at the Maryland Food Bank, leads the program and says the FoodWorks students cook 1000 pounds of fresh food a day, building their skills as they help others. “It all goes full circle. You can take food that is highly perishable and turn it in to great family meals. Meals and entrees that a chef would be proud of.”

The meals they prepare are vacuum-sealed and go to soup kitchens, homeless shelters and food pantries.

Students in the program also study and are tested for a food safety certification. The food bank helps graduates find a full-time job. According to The Maryland Food Bank website “FoodWorks graduates earn an average of $13 per hour—well above the current minimum wage.” The current class graduates October 9.

David Jones, 69, Landsdowne, a veteran of the Viet Nam War, says “I gave back in the military now I’m giving back here.” He wants to open a Kosher restaurant and “employ those that have not the option or the skills.” Jones wants to “let them know that they can do it for themselves instead of somebody else” doing it for them.

FoodWorks program at the Maryland Food Bank

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