Sign in below to manage your monthly gift or email communications Sign in »
More Recipes for Success


Stay Connected

Culinary Training Students and Graduates

For the last ten years, our Culinary Training program has provided adults facing barriers to employment with the skills needed for sustainable careers in food service at no cost to them. Since then, our chefs have trained over 470 people and each one of those graduates have gone on to a career in the food industry. Our students and graduates inspire us daily.

Meet Sofi

Meet Sofi

Originally from Haiti, Sofi left her home in pursuit of opportunity. She knew she had a deep passion for food and cooking. If she was given a chance to succeed, she knew she would take it.
Read story

Meet Rachelle

Meet Rachelle

Rachelle and her family were unable to find a place to live earlier this year. They found themselves seeking help at a local homeless shelter. At the shelter, she learned about the Culinary Training Program.
Read story

Meet Nina

Meet Nina

Nina has always loved to cook. As a stay at home mom, she prepared scratch-cooked meals for her family. Her husband had a good, steady job in maintenance for an apartment complex but sometimes it was not enough.
Read story

Meet Rachel

Meet Rachel

Rachel harbored a secret passion for baking but never thought it would lead to a job, let alone a sustainable career. Little did she know that the support and training she needed was just a phone call away.
Read story

Culinary Graduates Find Sweet Success

Culinary graduates find sweet success

At the 2019 Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show, two Second Harvest Culinary Training Program graduates took home honors in The Florida Wedding Cake Challenge, beating out veteran pastry chefs.
Read story

Meet Qui

Meet Qui

The last place any parent wants to raise their children is in a homeless shelter. After a series of unfortunate events, including job loss and domestic violence, Qui and her sons were living in an emergency shelter. She'd hit rock bottom.
Read story

Meet Jorge

Meet Jorge

Jorge was forced to leave his home in Venezuela. When he moved here, he knew little English and worked odd jobs. Learn more about his journey and what skills have helped him the most in his new job.
Read story

Meet Marie

Meet Marie

A single mother with a 16-month-old daughter, Marie was juggling work as a prep cook with the stress of a young child when a friend told her about the Culinary Trainin Program at Second Harvest. Now working toward a career, and not just a job, Marie's life is changing for the better.
Read story

Meet Antonio

Meet Antonio

Antonio is passionate about two things: cooking and children. Thanks to the guidance of past student, Chef Kenneth Neal, Antonio sought out an opportunity to make a better life for his kids and his future.
Read story

Meet Yoleida Davila

Meet Johima

A practicing lawyer in Venezula, when Johima moved to Orlando to be closer to her children, she found herself having to start over from scratch. Thanks to an internet search for career training, Johima fortunate to come across the food bank's Culinary Training Program, and now has a new beginning.
Read story

Meet Yoleida Davila

Meet Yoleida

Fleeing the violence and unrest of Venezuela after her father's death, Yoleida knew the road ahead of her would be difficult. When she learned about the food bank's Culinary Training Program, she knew what her direction toward a better life would be and works hard everyday to get there.
Read story

Meet Darnell Brown

Meet Darnell

Darnell Brown has dreamed of being a chef for as long as he can remember. He comes from a big family - he is one of eight kids - and meals were a time that everyone always came together. After high school he enrolled in culinary school but had to withdraw when his mother passed away. He set his dreams aside and started a landscaping business with some of his brothers to make ends meet.
Read story

Meet Clarimar, Miguel and Yamil

Meet Clarimar, Miguel and Yamil

Last fall, in the wake of Hurricane Maria, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida launched its first bi-lingual class of its successful Culinary Training Program. Over the course of 16 weeks, the students learned the culinary and life skills training needed to transform their lives with a new career.
Read story

Kevin's story of hope and courage

Meet Kevin

Kevin Torres has cooked up a whole new life for himself and his family, and now he's landed his dream job as a sauté cook at the Seasons 52 restaurant in Altamonte Springs, FL.
Read story

Shandra's story of hope and courage

Shandra update

Shandra went from a full-time job down to part-time in order to complete the program. She had to take a step back in order to move forward, and it has been worth it. Her dream to cook is now providing a better life for Shandra, her husband, James, and their four children.
Read story

Story of Hope and Courage: Michel'le

Meet Michel'le

Michel'le Snell grew up with her grandmother and the two spent many days in the kitchen making family recipes. But when her grandmother's house was foreclosed, Michel'le and her three daughters had to find a new place to live. With no job and no car, she spent her income tax return on two month's rent.
Read story

Soline's Story of Hope and Courage

Meet Soline

Solinee Dulcio was recognized at the Top Student at last fall's Culinary Training Program graduation. Originally from Haiti, Soline struggled with depression and unemployment before applying to the program. Today she is employed full-time at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort as a prep cook.
Read story

Stories of Hope & Courage: Faces of Hunger

Puerto Rican Evacuees Culinary Training Journey

Miguel lost everything when Hurricane Maria devasted Puerto Rico in Fall of 2017. His story is 1 in over 140,000 Puerto Ricans who have arrived in Central Florida since the storm, but with the help of Second Harvest's Culinary Training Program, he is working toward rebuilding his life for him and his daughter.
Read story

Stories of Hope & Courage: Meet Teddy

Meet Teddy

Homeless and struggling, Theodore was looking for a second chance when he started in our 14-week Culinary Training Program. Now graduated, he has been able to turn his life around and find hope.
Read story

Katherine's Story of Hope and Courage

Meet Katherine

Katherine is just weeks away from completing Second Harvest's Culinary Training Program as part of the first Spanish-language class. In the past she has worked at a bakery, but steady work has been a challenge. Then, last fall, Hurricane Maria devastated her town in Puerto Rico.
Read story

Stories of Hope & Courage: Story of Chef Susan Anderson

Chef Susan Anderson

Susan Anderson always loved cooking. When her wages stagnated, she lost her car and then her home, Susan applied to Second Harvest Food Bank's 14- week Culinary Training Program with the hope of a new beginning for her family. "I was working in retail management and food service but my career was stalled," recalls Anderson.
Read story

Stories of Hope & Courage: Meet Teddy

Life Changing Experience

When Shandra started the Culinary Training Program at Second Harvest, she had no clue how much it was going to change her life for the better. She faced a lot of challenges heading in to the program, but along the way found the support and strength she needed to climb over those hurdles and flourish. Read and be inspired by Shandra's amazing story, and how she has been since leaving the program.
Read story

Stories of Hope & Courage: Chef Kenneth Neal

Chef Kenneth Neal

Chef Kenneth Neil is a graduate of Second Harvest's Culinary Training Program. This program provides qualified, at-risk and economically disadvantaged adults with the culinary and life skills training needed to pursue a sustainable career in the food industry.
Read story


View more Culinary Training Student “Recipe for Success” stories

View Stories of Hope and Courage

Hunger In Our Community
Stories of Hope and Courage Click to read stories of hope and courage
Meet some of the people that your support helps. Read their stories.
Culinary Training program
Your support provides so much more than meals. Meet our students.
Food is more than a meal Food is more than a meal.
Thank you for making a difference. Watch here.
Become a
Sustaining Donor!
- or -
Give a One-Time Gift
$10 Donated provides 40 meals for our neighbors facing hunger
Stay Connected
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instragram Follow us on LinkedIn
Contact Us 411 Mercy Drive, Orlando, Fl 32805Ph: 407-295-1066 | F: 407-295-5299 Visit our other sites: Feed Hope Now Blog Partner Agencies gogreenback with Second Harvest Food Bank