Our Skills Development Programs
Our programs have two phases to support our participants.
The first phase is built to increase important life skills that help our participants work towards greater independence. Upon entry into our organization, all participants start in this stream to learn the fundamentals of both gardening and kitchen skills.
The second phase supports our participants in working toward mastering skills for employment opportunities. At this juncture, participants streamline into one of the two programs, to continue to develop skills required for that field of employment. After meeting all the skill requirements, participants will have the opportunity of a job placement in the community.
The Birds, Bees, and Butterflies Program
As every gardener knows, there is a sense of pride in seeing hard work come to fruition and a joy at being able to grow something yourself.
It is out of this love and passion the concept for the Birds, Bees, and Butterfly (3-B) Pilot Program started. The 3-B Program teaches participants how to grow and maintain a garden from start to finish, including important aspects like seed starting, composting, companion planting, weeding, watering, and seed saving, as well as nutrition and food preparation. All of this is accomplished through fun, hands-on activities.
In the life skills stream, participants will be able to develop greater proficiency needed to help with their own independence. In our employable skill based stream, our participants transition to Loving Spoonful’s Farm Skill Training program. In the program learn skills needed to be hired on local farms and fill the work needs of some of our local CSA farms. All participants will leave with a sense of pride and community and a connectedness to the earth that supports us all.
CommUnity Café
The CommUnity Café is our social enterprise which also provides the opportunity for skills based programming . It is a local eatery for residents and commuters in the Lakeside District.
Program participants have the opportunity to develop important skills for food service and customer service in this program. The skills learned are also transferrable skills to other areas of employment.
Courses covered in this program include:
~The Science of Cooking
~Knife Skills and Utilizing Kitchen Equipment
~Kitchen Fundamentals
~The Science and Art of Baking
~Social Skills and Customer Service
~Brewing and Mixing: Non-alcoholic Mixology
~Food From Around The World
-Customer Service
-Cash handling
-Inventory Management
-Marketing