In Melville, a food bank’s workforce institute graduates its fourth class of skilled workers

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Island Harvest Food Bank’s Workforce Skills Development Institute in Melville recently graduated its fourth class of students.

Addressing the workforce needs of local employees, the institute helps trainees gain skills in warehousing and inventory control. The program is designed so that those who are unemployed, underemployed or underskilled can attain jobs and economic stability, as well as food security.

The institute, which has graduated 42 students since its inception in January of 2023, is an example of how food banks can address root causes of hunger and food insecurity.

“Distributing food to help people who are food insecure is a short-term solution to the ongoing hunger crisis in America,” Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of Island Harvest, said in a news release about the most recent graduation.

“We are taking a holistic approach in addressing one of the root causes of hunger and food insecurity by providing people who are unemployed, or in some cases underemployed, with the skills necessary to find a job that pays a sustaining wage that supports themselves and their families,” she said.

To date, 60% of the inaugural class has obtained full-time employment, according to Island Harvest.

The curriculum includes training and certifications in technical warehousing and soft skills that support success in the workplace. Combining job-specific technical proficiency and contextualized employability skills, the program allows trainees to earn six credentials by graduation to equip them with valuable ready-to-offer skills to a prospective employer.

Students receive in-house support and wrap-around services – including salary, transportation, and childcare stipends to address barriers to program participation and completion – as well as weekly career coaching during training and one year post-graduation. These services help foster the ability to complete the program. This graduating class joins the one before it in achieving 100% completion.

Jawan Davenport graduated in the fall of 2023 and now serves as a food service associate at Northwell Health.

“I didn’t have much to offer when I came to the program but learned a lot and left with much to be proud of like my OSHA and Food Safety certifications,” Davenport said in the news release. “Being in the program allowed me to learn and get what I needed to be prepared for opportunities when they came, like my job at Northwell Health.”

Maria Arianas, chief workforce development officer at Island Harvest, said in the news release that the institute “offers our trainees a safe space to learn and grow, bringing together a range of training and support services that provide them with the skills foundation to enter, re-enter, or move up in the workforce.”

Working with local business partners, Island Harvest aims to understand the job market to remain current with employment trends and the needs of employers, and to create connections to employment opportunities. Its list of employer partners has tripled since the program’s inception, according to the food bank.

The food bank recruits candidates for its Workforce Skills Development Institute from various sources, including the New York State Department of Labor, the Nassau and Suffolk County One-Stop Career Centers, the Departments of Social Services in both counties, local nonprofit human service organizations, and the food banks network of member agencies across Long Island.