Changing Lives Through Culinary Careers

What We Do

We will provide paid, hands-on culinary training paired with workforce readiness and wraparound support for individuals who are often excluded from traditional employment pathways.

Each year we will serve 30-36 students through three cohorts. Each cohort lasts 16 weeks and blends:

• Daily kitchen and classroom training
• On-the-job, paid work experience
• Workforce readiness & life skills
• Direct job placement with local restaurants
  
  

Students earn their Food Handler’s Card, gain professional kitchen skills, and graduate with a job, not just a certificate.

Who We Serve

We focus on individuals facing the greatest barriers to employment, including:

• Formerly incarcerated individuals
• Foster youth who have aged out of care
• Opportunity youth seeking stability and direction

All students are referred through trusted community partners and receive coordinated support services.

Why This Matters

While Escondido’s overall unemployment rate is relatively low, poverty and wage instability persist, especially for people without formal credentials, young adults aging out of systems, and individuals reentering the community.

A job alone isn’t enough. A career pathway is what breaks cycles of poverty.

This program provides:

• Market-relevant skills aligned with real restaurant needs.
• Stable income while training.
• Mentorship, accountability, and support.
• Access to employers committed to hiring and advancement.

Creating Access To Opportunity

What participants can expect:

Recruitment, Access & Support Setup

Heal The Earth will recruit prospective students through trusted local agencies and nonprofit partners including Interfaith, North County Lifeline, and Amity Ranch. The program will serve justice-involved individuals (previously incarcerated), foster youth who have aged out of the foster care system, and opportunity youth facing systemic barriers to employment. Referrals must have stable housing and the ability for community partners to provide wraparound services.

In line with the strengths of these partner organizations, each participant will receive case management, mental health services, and sobriety support if needed. Transportation assistance, including bus passes, will be provided when not already covered by the referring agency. Each student will also receive three chef uniforms, a professional knife kit, and required textbooks to ensure they are fully equipped to begin training.

Culinary & Workforce Training

Participants will enroll in a structured training cohort lasting 12 to 16 weeks. The program will run multiple cohorts per year, with each cohort consisting of 10 to 12 students. Training will be paid and structured as earn-while-you-learn, on-the-job training.



The curriculum will be built around proper knife skills, professional kitchen practices, and workforce readiness and soft skills. Students will receive daily kitchen and classroom instruction, blending hands-on culinary training with life skills and job readiness education. During this phase, students will earn their Food Handler’s Card and gain real-world experience aligned with current kitchen expectations in the North County area.

 Job Placement & Employer Partnership

Heal The Earth will develop and maintain direct relationships with local restaurants and hospitality employers to ensure strong job placement outcomes. Employers will participate in curriculum feedback, volunteer instruction during kitchen and classroom time, and provide real-time insight into industry expectations and trends.



Hiring commitments will be formalized through memorandums of understanding with established employers. Students will be placed into jobs with growth potential upon completion of training, ensuring they graduate with employment, not just a certificate. This phase emphasizes alignment between training and real jobs to support long-term workforce stability.

Retention, Advancement & Apprenticeship Pathway

Following graduation, Heal The Earth will continue to monitor each student’s progress to ensure increasing skills, wages, and long-term job stability. Ongoing follow-up will focus on retention, professional growth, and advancement within the culinary industry.

The ultimate goal of the workforce training program is to evolve into a California Registered Apprenticeship Program. This phase focuses on building a sustainable career pathway so that each participant gains not only a job, but a long-term culinary career with opportunities for wage growth and economic mobility

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