Salvation Farms’ Third Cohort Successfully Completes Workforce Development Training

Salvation Farms, a Morrisville-based nonprofit, recently completed its third workforce development training cycle, with three trainees successfully completing the 4-month work-and-learn program. The program is housed in Salvation Farms’ Winooski food hub, where thousands of pounds of surplus crops from Vermont farms are brought each week to be cleaned, sorted, processed and packed for distribution to food shelves and meal sites across the state.

Through this program, trainees who have barriers to employment learn on-the-job skills in food handling and light manufacturing, earn transferable industry-recognized certifications, gain food systems awareness, and hone their job-readiness skills. As part of this effort, Salvation Farms has been establishing partnerships with area employers to create avenues for employment after trainees finish the program.

Salvation Farms’ Executive Director Theresa Snow reflects on this crew’s accomplishments: “the trainees faced adversity with grit and determination, engaged with community volunteers with grace and appreciation, and achieved much more than they anticipated – all through embracing hands-on and experiential learning. Plus – they helped move nearly 92,000 pounds of “un-marketable” crops to those most in need of nourishment in Vermont.”

To learn more about Salvation Farms and their Vermont Commodity Program workforce development effort, visit www.salvationfarms.org