On Feb. 23, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank will begin the 36th class of their Community Kitchen program and is currently accepting applications for enrollment. Community Kitchen is a culinary job-training program for low-income and unemployed adults.

During the full-time, 14-week/400-hour program, students are trained in basic cooking skills including various aspects of food service operations, knife usage and care, kitchen safety and first aid. Instruction by two experienced professional chefs, who are part of the Food Bank’s staff, is supplemented by internships in local restaurants and institutional kitchens.

Throughout the training, students use fresh fruits and vegetables as well as other donated food items to prepare nutritious meals for distribution to Kids Cafe, a Food Bank community after-school meal program for children at risk of hunger. More than 400 children are fed each day at Kids Cafe sites in Providence with meals prepared by Community Kitchen students.

“I constantly hear from students that the Community Kitchen program does so much more than teach them how to cook,” said Marilyn Zuller, case manager and employment specialist for the Food Bank’s Community Kitchen. “It provides hope, builds confidence and opens the door for employment opportunities that otherwise may not have been available. Community Kitchen truly is a life-changing opportunity.”

Currently, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank is feeding over 40,000 Rhode Islanders each month through a network of 285 certified member agency programs.

This reflects a 12 percent increase over last year. In the last year, emergency food programs of the Food Bank served 10 million meals to Rhode Islanders in need. Additionally, nearly 11 percent of all Rhode Islanders, representing 115,000 people, are at risk of going hungry.

For more information about the Food Bank’s Community Kitchen program, contact Marilyn Zuller at 942-6325 ext. 239.