C-CAP Partners with Fortune Society To Instruct the Formerly Incarcerated in the Culinary Arts

Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) announced a partnership with Fortune Society to provide culinary instruction and ServSafe certification for the Fortune Society’s clients. This partnership will provide a career opportunity for the formerly incarcerated, a population that Fortune serves.

Providing a career path in the restaurant and hospitality worlds has been at the core of C-CAP’s programming since its inception 33 years ago. Using food as a path to social end economic equity is the nonprofit’s mission. Fortune Society has similarly provided paths to success for individuals with justice involvement by supporting their successful reentry from incarceration and helping rebuild their lives through innovative service and advocacy.

“We are thrilled that we are able to partner with Fortune Society to help provide culinary training to those seeking a new career in the restaurant and hospitality industries,” said C-CAP’s Executive Director Tanya Steel. C-CAP Co-Chair Marcus Samuelsson said, “providing a culinary career path to those who are seeking a better life is exactly at the heart of C-CAP’s mission.”

“This partnership with C-CAP is a wonderful opportunity for justice-involved individuals to find meaningful employment that will not only benefit their families but provide them with a path to success,” said JoAnne Page, President and CEO of The Fortune Society. “Together, we can help ensure that these individuals are given the chance to thrive as positive, contributing members of the New York City community.”

About C-CAP 
Long co-chaired by chef Marcus Samuelsson, Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) is an education and workforce development nonprofit that provides underserved teens a pathway to success through scholarships, apprenticeships, and jobs in the food sector. Annually, C-CAP provides culinary, job and life skills to over 20,000 middle-and-high school students in nine cities/regions across the United States: New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Camden, Chicago, Los  Angeles, Washington DC, Maryland and Arizona, including seven Navajo Reservation schools.

This 33-year-old nonprofit founded by Richard Grausman strives to help further food and social justice, as well as equity and inclusion by providing tools for job success. Starting in middle schools, we provide culinary-and-wellness curriculum, and in high schools also provide an integrated approach to employment in the food sector via internships/apprenticeships, job shadows, mentorship, work opportunities, college and career advising, and higher-education scholarships, along with product and food donations.

The success of our alumni—from winery CEOs to chef-owner restaurateurs—is proof of our methodology. To date, we have worked with 370,000 students and awarded $66 million in college scholarships.  C-CAP has transformed thousands of lives in a meaningful way. The urgency to help these diverse communities has never been more critical. For more information, go to https://ccapinc.org.

About the Fortune Society 
Founded in 1967, The Fortune Society has advocated on criminal justice issues for over five decades and is nationally recognized for developing model programs that help people with criminal justice histories to be assets to their communities.  Fortune offers a holistic and integrated “one-stop-shopping” model of service provision. Among the services offered are discharge planning, licensed outpatient substance abuse and mental health treatment, alternatives to incarceration, HIV/AIDS services, career development and job retention, education, family services, drop-in services and supportive housing as well as lifetime access to aftercare