Ready for the next course: Food Bank of Delaware celebrates Kitchen School graduates

MILFORD — Nine students set their plates for a career in the culinary field, as they graduated from the Food Bank of Delaware’s Kitchen School on Wednesday.

The program provides food service training for adults with intellectual disabilities, with the goal of preparing them for a job in that setting.

It is a 12-week curriculum offered at both the Milford and Newark branches, plus it’s completely free.

Wednesday’s graduates comprised the second class since the Milford location opened in January. The students are Robert Campbell, Angelo Carannante, Luis Gonzalez, Malori Hitchens, Tyrell Joseph, Tatiana Martinez-Figueroa, Toniesha Parks, Shane Schirling and Tia Street.

“This team right here really blessed my heart,” said La’Reka Marshall, the ceremony’s keynote speaker and the CEO of Rare Air. “They remind me of myself when I was in school and I had educational struggles. I didn’t know what I wanted to be in life.”

She said she visited the class a few weeks ago and worked with them to make omelets.

She left the students with one piece of advice: “You have to continue to pound the pavement for your future,” adding that she witnessed the support the food bank offered to its Kitchen School participants.

“I have never been to any place of business where I felt so much love, community, respect and a team that cares for their students,” Ms. Marshall said. “They remind me of the teachers I had in school that supported me all the way through.”

The students work closely with the facility’s staff, as they learn the ins and outs of kitchens.

“I always say to them, ‘I hope that, when you leave my class, ... I have taught you something because you always teach me something,’” chef instructor Shalisa Alexander said.

The next Kitchen School classes begin in September.

For information, visit fbd.org/thekitchenschool .