The Fresh Start Café is open for business at 280 Broadway from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Next time you get hungry when you are in downtown Newburgh, check out the offerings of the Fresh Start Café, where a professional chef and a food and hospitality expert are leading a staff of newly-trained workers who are gaining the experience needed to get off welfare and into the workforce. The café, which opened on Monday, August 16 at 280 Broadway, also known as the Neighborhood Resource Center, is a project of the Orange County Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Employment and Training Agency (ETA), along with the Regional Economic Community Action Program (RECAP).
With a goal of providing welfare recipients with real-life work experience to prepare them for future employment, Orange County has launched the Café as a micro-business to provide welfare recipients with important hands-on training.
Hands-On Training at the Cafe
Newburgh’s Fresh Start Café staff and trainees prepare for lunch hour visitors. Trainee Michelle Siano (yellow shirt) readies a take-out order while chef/trainer Bill Wilklow (black hat) provides instruction to trainees Ada Lebron, Gary Buxton, and Dwayne Mc Griff.
Working together, these county organizations opened the first Fresh Start Café in Middletown in January 2007. County executive Ed Diana, both a former teacher and restaurant owner, praised the program for its success in using on-the-job training to help welfare recipients acquire skills and experience that will put them on the road to long-term independence.
“Traditional classroom training provides our welfare recipients with an introduction to the basic skills necessary for employment. However, the real success and long-term results come from the experience of actually doing the job,” said Mr. Diana.
Catering and Take-Out Available
Trainees are taught all aspects of the food service industry, including inventory control, food preparation, service delivery, and customer service as they assist café patrons.
In addition to food service operations, the Fresh Start Café will offer catering services throughout the County to further expand trainees’ food service education.
Hours for the Newburgh Fresh Start Café are 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. To place an order, schedule delivery, or discuss catering services, please call (845) 863-0100.
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