Raymond Rice smiles into the camera of his smartphone, turns it around and begins a virtual tour of his long term assignment with Snapchef.  It's a spectacular location on the fifteenth floor of the BNY Mellon skyrise in Downtown Boston. We're very proud to share Raymond's story. 

Community Servings' Teaching Kitchen trains individuals interested in careers in the foodservice industry who are currently unemployed or facing barriers to full-time employment.  As they learn basic food service skills, program participants also help our kitchen staff prepare the meals we deliver to our clients. 70% of our graduates find jobs within 6 months following graduation.  Partners like Snapchef with Sodexo make it possible for our people to gain entrance to the industry.  As an agency with top notch clients people like Ray get to work side by side with top professionals.  This is the "elbow to elbow" interview.  This opens doors far beyond interviews with HR departments.

Raymond can attest to the potential impact of The Teaching Kitchen and Community Servings partner Snapchef.

Raymond was referred to The Teaching Kitchen program by Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation.  Raymond was motivated to turn his life around, but it was not easy. "When I started [The Teaching Kitchen], I couldn't even afford carfare to get to class. There were days I walked from Blue Hill Ave and stayed till 4PM then prayed I would get some money to get back home." With the help of our Job-Readiness Manager, Troy Heggie, Raymond got a cooking position with Snapchef while still attending the program. "I was able to graduate because I could afford to get to school," said Raymond.