TAC has a long history and strong reputation for providing excellent vocational training opportunities for the individuals they serve. The benefit of this training and employment opportunities, such as Fresh Abilities, in community integrated settings being operated by TAC is that there will be the added flexibility to meet the specific needs of individuals who may need additional supports, which a traditional employer may have difficulty providing. These alternate, community-integrated worksites have been successful in helping individuals achieve upward mobility and move away from vocational habitation into more permanent employment and connect with new job opportunities as a result of their training.
Bridget Doane, Director of Development & Donor Relations, commented: "This has been the first time for many of the team members at Fresh Abilities to work out in the broader community in many years and it has been a great experience so far. Everyone has been very encouraging and complementary to our team and we are looking forward to them building relationships with our customers as time goes on!"
The Fresh Abilities restaurant has already successfully trained 11 trainees from the food service pre-training program, who all received their ServSafe Level 1 certification. Trainees received 18 days, or 110 hours, of food service, food preparation, food safety, sanitation and customer training to prepare them for work in the food service industry.