Delicious Food with a Generous Serving of Second Chances

Chris White, a Culinary Training Collaborative graduate,
with Felicia Jenkins, Chef Instructor at Zest 280

Eat lunch at Zest 280 and you'll enjoy a good, healthy lunch along with a generous serving of second chances. I did. On my first visit I savored this mission-based café's homemade Grain Bowl. It was a delicious combination of lentils, quinoa, brown rice, peppers, tomato, kale and grilled chicken. This cozy café at 280 Park Road in West Hartford, sister restaurant to the acclaimed Pond House Café, is celebrating its first anniversary since owners Kim Yarum and Louis Lista reopened it a year ago with a mission dedicated to providing former prison inmates a second chance to earn the skills necessary to re-enter society with a viable career in the workplace.

Zest 280's complete menu is a made-from-scratch fare of soups, salads, sandwiches, and hot plates, all prepared on-site by paid "externs" who commit to a rigorous career development program sponsored by Community Partners in Action (CPA) in collaboration with Zest 280 and The Kitchen at Billings Forge in Hartford's Frog Hollow neighborhood.

On the day of my first visit, Chris White was my host and server. His welcoming style, attention to detail, and willingness to explain Zest 280's mission appropriately complemented Zest’s bright and open atmosphere. He holds a permanent position on the Pond House Café's banquet staff, where he was placed after completing his Zest externship. However, this day Chris was handling Zest's hosting duties gladly to fill a last minute staffing need.

 The healthy, homemade Grain Bowl I ate on my first visit. 

On my second visit my friend had the Roasted Beet Salad and ...

... I ordered the Salmon Cake Served Over Indian Rice.

Working as a Culinary Training Collaborative, CPA, The Kitchen and Zest 280 combine to provide professional training in food preparation and customer service with actual on-the-job business experience to prepare people "seeking a second chance for careers in the culinary arts and hospitality industries." The Collaborative is integral to CPA's mission which focuses on behavioral change and advocacy for criminal justice reform. CPA's "employment, basic needs, reentry and recovery services work together to reduce recidivism, enhance public safety and inform public policy -- all at a fraction of the cost of prison."

Critical to the Collaborative's success is The Kitchen at Billings Forge. Its Kitchen Culinary Program provides desperately needed paid job training opportunities for people who face the often overwhelming challenges of unemployment, low education levels, and high poverty rates. Also, it seeks to help the significant number of former prisoners who are released to Hartford where they often remain only to face high barriers to employment.  The Kitchen's specific on-the-job training creates real-life experiences for participants interested in both culinary and customer service careers. All training is conducted by experienced professionals working side-by-side with students cooking for and serving patrons in its café, as well as at catered events. As reported on its web site "almost 100 folks so far have started the training and, within eight weeks of completing the program, 75% went directly to jobs with starting wages averaging 119% of minimum wage."

Zest 280 fulfills its partnership responsibilities by employing selected Kitchen Culinary Program graduates directly into what it calls its 10-week hands-on culinary "externship." It's a paid position with the opportunity for the graduates to apply their newly acquired skills outside of a training environment. Externs work under the tutelage of Chef Instructor Felicia Jenkins, a seasoned chef who turned her own second chance years ago into more than two decades of combined experience with The Kitchen and the Pond House Café. Felicia guides the externs through a structured program designed to provide advanced culinary skills, as well as "front-of-the-house" customer service skills critical to professional interaction with the public. After completing their externship, participants receive Zest's assistance in finding permanent job placement through interview coaching, and guidance on resume preparation and job application completion. To date twelve externs have successfully completed the program and nine have been placed in area positions.

On my third visit Victoria Negrón was our host and server.
My friend enjoyed the Zesty Starter and I savored
the perfectly spiced Thai Chicken Salad.

Zest 280's bright and open atmosphere.

The Culinary Training Collaborative is an excellent example of a partnership determined to clear a pathway back into society for individuals seeking a second chance. The opportunity to work at Zest 280 provides a vital step along the road to gainful employment. It's a step toward restoring hope and dignity to a vulnerable population searching for an opportunity for redemption.  Zest 280 is The Eatery with a Twist where you'll enjoy a delicious healthy lunch with a generous serving of second chances. 

Believe in second chances and eat with Zest! Often!   

Zest 280 is located at 280 Park Road in West Hartford
(Photo from the Community Partners in Action web site)

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr., and one from Community Partners in Action as noted.

Making Kafar's Dream Come True

Kafar Hassan with mentor Dean Amadon

Ethiopian refugee Kafar Hassan's dream is coming true. Forced to leave his son Robel behind in Johannesburg, South Africa where they had found safe haven for several years, Kafar arrived in Hartford's Asylum Hill neighborhood in 2013 when resettled by local Catholic Charities Migration, Refugee and Immigration Services. In Asylum Hill he found welcoming support and eventually an opportunity to succeed.

A life saving network of Hartford organizations and individuals collaborating to focus Kafar's commitment to succeed led to his March 24, 2017 graduation from Manchester Community College's Precision Manufacturing Program. With a hard-earned career-advancing cerification in hand, coupled with a good paying highly technical manufacturing job starting March 27, Kafar's dream of reuniting with Robel is closer than ever.

Attending Kafar's graduation was an uplifting highlight for me and several other members of the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association's (AHNA) Welcoming Committee there to cheer him on, and congratulate him for a job well done. Kafar's success and the team that cleared his path is featured in  guest blogger Tim Blonsky's article that follows. Tim is Advanced Manufacturing Coordinator at Capital Workforce Partners. His article highlights what can be accomplished when a community comes together to welcome a newcomer.

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Be energized.

Don Shaw, Jr
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Kafar Hassan's Advanced Manufacturing Graduation

A Time for Dreams to Come True 

by Tim Blonsky
Advanced Manufacturing Coordinator 

Capital Workforce Partners   

Kafar's Opportunity: Capital Workforce Partners' Advanced Manufacturing Program

Capital Workforce Partners, working with partners from education and business, is pleased to announce the successful graduation of a number of previously under- and unemployed individuals who received certificates in Precision Manufacturing CPM/CAM 4 from Manchester Community College’s (MCC) Great Path Academy program on Friday, March 24, 2017.

Capital Workforce Partners’ Advanced Manufacturing Program, made possible by both federal and state grant investments, has led to ten participants successfully graduating on March 24 who will be placed in manufacturing jobs. This program is meeting one of the greatest challenges facing advanced manufacturing today -- a labor shortage of trained workers much needed to sustain growth. The current generation of incumbent workers nearing retirement is leading to the critical need for the next generation of well-trained, advanced manufacturing workers.

In response to the need to support both interested job seekers, as well as advanced manufacturing employers, Capital Workforce Partners, working with its education and training partners and 45 manufacturing companies, have helped over 220 adults to get manufacturing credentials and/or jobs in the Manufacturing Industry. This program also provides a great opportunity for low-income individuals to pursue job training as a ladder out of poverty which will have a huge impact on their lives and those of their families and communities.

One of the graduates is Kafar Hassan, a resident of Hartford and refugee from Ethiopia, who came to Hartford five years ago via South Africa with the goal of establishing himself before bringing his wife and son stateside.  “Kafar proved to be one of our more dedicated and committed students right from the start. He always showed up to class on time and his approach to the classroom and machining labs was always with a winning and positive attitude. Strong class participation, aptitude, preparation and excellent program results were rewarded with a successful interview and an excellent first step in a manufacturing career at EDAC Technologies in Newington,” said Dave Russell, Manufacturing Program Director at MCC.

Dave Russell, MCC Manufacturing Program Director (left) and Nelson Robles, MCC Manufacturing Instructor (right)
award Kafar his Precision Manufacturing CPM/CAM 4 certificate

Kafar's Journey

Kafar Hassan was born forty years ago in Jijiga, Ethiopia. He was raised by a single mother after his father was killed in ongoing tribal fighting. She and her family placed him in a seminary school in Nazareth, now known as Adama. There he completed high school and began his post-secondary education. However, because of continuing political strife and fighting, Kafar fled to Durban, South Africa in 1991. 

When Kafar arrived in Durban he volunteered with various human rights organizations eventually co-founding “International Refugees Services,” which was featured in a 2001 L.A.Times article. After seven years serving the needs of refugees, he was awarded a scholarship to the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in Durban. While pursuing his studies he encountered difficulties in Durban and moved to Johannesburg where he made the decision to seek asylum in the United States. The process took about seven years during which time he met and married his wife Benicia. Their son, Robel, was born in 2008. Resettlement to America became a reality in 2013 through Catholic Charities' Immigration and Refugee Resettlement Program though to meant leaving Benicia and Robel behind to follow him later once he was settled.

Kafar's relocation to the United States initially placed him in Hartford’s Asylum Hill neighborhood. Through Hartford Public Library's Cultural Navigator Program, which supports the transition of new arrival immigrants and refugees, Kafar was introduced to and welcomed by members of the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association (AHNA), as well as matched with a dedicated volunteer mentor, Dean Amadon, from the Asylum Hill Congregational Church. Over the past few years, Kafar and Dean formed a partnership focused on supporting Kafar’s determination to move forward.

Nancy Caddigan from Hartford Public Library and Dean Amadon congratulate Kafar Hassan.
Nancy introduced Kafar to Dean who became Kafar's mentor

Heartbreakingly, Benicia became ill with cancer and passed away in 2015, leaving his son to be cared for by relief workers in South Africa. 

Until recently Kafar was earning an hourly wage of less than $10.50 at a small, local company -- not enough to allow saving for the fare to bring his son to the United States.  But a solution was in the works. Through an introduction orchestrated by Dean Amadon, Kafar was referred to Capital Workforce Partners where he was introduced to the Advanced Manufacturing Training program at MCC. The program provides entry level CNC Machining training, placement assistance, and an accredited certificate upon successful program completion. To support his participation in the training program, a number of individuals generously contributed to Kafar’s tuition and living costs. 

Kafar was a member of Friday's graduating class. His academic success enabled him to be hired by EDAC Technologies in Newington in a position with opportunity for growth.  With the good fortune of beginning his new career immediately upon graduation, Kafar now has the means to pay his son's way to the United States. His dream of having his family brought together again may be realized soon. A bright future is on the horizon for Kafar and Robel.

Celebrating Kafar's graduation.
L-R Tim Blonsky, Dean Amadon, Nancy Caddigan, Kafar Hassan,
Rio Comaduran, Jennifer Cassidy, and Don Shaw, Jr.
(Not pictured is Bernie Michel who took the photo)

Photos by Bernie Michel (#'s 1, 2 & 4) and Don Shaw, Jr. (#3)

A Pathway Opens

Immigrant Career Pathways graduates celebrate with ESL instructor Gail Rosin (far left)
and Pathways Program Coordinator Jayna Velez-Molina (far right back row).

November 10, 2016.

It's graduation day.

Graduation day for the inaugural class of Hartford Public Library's Immigrant Career Pathways introductory food service program, a collaboration with Hartford Public Schools' Food & Child Nutrition Services.

Nine Hartford immigrants celebrated completion of sixty hours of ESL (English as a Second Language) classes and thirty-six hours of a hands-on internship in a Hartford public school cafeteria preparing them for food service careers. The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving (HFPG) funded program offers Hartford's recent arrivals an opportunity to successfully enter the workforce with knowledge, experience and skills.

Managed by Jayna Velez-Molina, Pathways Program Coordinator, this collaboration extends Hartford's welcoming hand to immigrants seeking a career opportunity. ESL instructor Gail Rosin's classes introduce students to food service terminology and the basics of what constitutes good food service practice. But it requires more than classroom instruction. Practical application is critical.

An excited  Maria Vasquez displays her 

Immigrant Career Pathways Certificate of Program Completion 

presented by Gail Rosin (left) and Jayna Velez-Molina (right)

Lonnie Burt, the Hartford Public Schools' Food & Child Nutrition Services Director, provides each student with a thirty-six hour on-the-job-training internship in one of the school system's fifty-two school cafeterias. "It's a great way to provide training to help immigrants get ahead. Additionally, it introduces diversity into the school system's cafeterias, and offers the potential to provide cultural food options reflective of the community," Burt said. "It's also a winning way for the school system's food services program to identify potential employees for job openings which occur routinely," she added.

In the future, today's graduates can further their careers by taking an advanced class, also funded by HFPG, for experienced food service workers. Taught by Trish Lawson, the school system's Field Manager for Food & Child Nutrition Services, students learn the National Restaurant Association's ServSafe sanitation standards, and apply them through school cafeteria internships, as well. It's required training for the national food protection exam to become a QFO - a qualified food operator. In Connecticut at least one person per food service establishment that prepares and serves food must have this important certification. Thirteen other students who just completed this advanced class, which requires another thirty-six hour internship, took the ServSafe exam on November 8th and are awaiting their results.

Left to right Trish Lawson, Lonnie Burt and Gustavo Sanchez 

celebrate Mr. Sanchez's graduation.

A combined total of twenty-two immigrants, nine in the introductory course and thirteen in the advanced course, who arrived in Hartford from Mexico, Peru, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Thailand, and Colombia, participated in the Immigrant Career Pathways food service program.

As a measure of the program's success, four of today's nine graduates have been hired for entry level positions in the school food system according to Wanda Dunaway, the Food & Child Nutrition Services Organization Manager. Capital Workforce Partners also participates in this initiative by providing resume preparation assistance, and job search support to facilitate entry into the local workforce.

Community collaborations work. This innovative community collaboration has opened a career pathway affording Hartford's new arrivals an opportunity to secure their first job in the United States. 

The next cycle of classes begins in January 2017. Contact Jayna Velez-Molina (jvelezmolina@hplct.org) at the Hartford Public Library for details.

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr.