SHARED USE KITCHEN INTERNSHIP AND NETWORK

This education and workforce development program targets students enrolled in Pierpont Community & Technical College Food Service Management & Culinary program and engages them with workforce development programs in Local Food Hub Sprouting Farms1(Talcott, WV) and the Greenville Farm Kitchen in Greenville, WV2.This 4 pronged approach engages Faculty and Students at Pierpont to complete; 1)online educational modules via Community Food Systems LINK developed by the West Virginia University Center for Resilient Communities3(a) mapping food system assets, (b) local food procurement (c) local food processing and the HOUSE Recipe program for shared use kitchens, 2) Better Process Control School (BPCS) online training (an FDA requirement for food manufacturing)43)'Earn while you learn' internship in shared-use kitchens processing local foods, such as Sprouting Farms' Greenville Farm Kitchen and the HOUSE Recipe Program, and 4) Mentorship within the state Processing, Aggregation and Distribution (PAD) Network (stakeholder working groups). Participants will receive a certificate of completion from the West Virginia University Center for Resilient Communities. This project refreshes workforce development curriculum to meet the needs of the 21st agricultural industry by integrating state and federal training programs into an immersive experience in the local food system that addresses a state gap in knowledge (BPCS and shared recipes/processes for acidified foods) and operators (trained food processors).