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Toledo's Cafe in the Park Provides Job Skills to Underprivileged Individuals

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Cafe in the Park, operated by the nonprofit Toledo Restaurant Training Center, has been serving lunch since its opening in early October. The program provides job skills to underprivileged men and women while creating a pipeline of trained waiters, cooks, and managers for area restaurants. Customer Idelma Urolia, who works with foster parents at Lucas County Children Services, has visited the cafe five times and enjoyed every meal.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Cafe in the Park program was set up in July to provide job skills to underprivileged men and women and create a pipeline of trained waiters, cooks, and managers for area restaurants.
  • The eight-week course is intense and teaches students essential skills such as use of color for food presentation, proper arrangement of food on a plate, and knife skills.
  • Students are referred by the Lucas County Department of Job & Family Services, which has given the school $185,000 to provide the training under a contract that runs through June 30.
  • The program has about 40 students, and all but five of the school's 30 slots are filled, with plans to add new courses and train individuals under 18 next year.
  • The goal is to place students in jobs that pay at least $8 an hour, with the restaurant serving about 40 lunches daily since its opening on October 6.

Statistics:

  • $185,000: The amount provided by the Lucas County Department of Job & Family Services to the Toledo Restaurant Training Center for the program.
  • 40: The number of students in the program, with about 30 slots available.
  • 10: The price of a four-course lunch at Cafe in the Park, which includes pasta, whitefish, chicken, Kansas City pork, or Cajun salmon, along with salad, soup, dessert, and a beverage.
  • $8 per hour: The minimum salary goal for students placed in jobs.
  • July: The month when the program was set up to provide job skills to underprivileged men and women.

Sources:

  • "The fish was flat-iron seared, the tomatoes were sun-dried, and the staff was a little green": Byline: Gary T. Pakulski Dec. 7, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
  • "I've learned a lot," said the cook trainee, citing the importance of "use of color to make the food presentation look nice": Byline: Gary T. Pakulski Dec. 7, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
  • Toledo Restaurant Training Center
  • Lucas County Children Services
  • Lucas County Department of Job & Family Services

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