Behind-the-Scenes: The Torres Shelter Kitchen Crew
Eryka, a guest at the Torres Community Shelter, shares what she loves about being kitchen manager and preparing meals for others who are also experiencing homelessness in Butte County.
Being a part of the Torres Community Shelter’s vocational kitchen program has not only offered Eryka important job skills training, it also has given her a chance to give back to other people like her—people who are experiencing homelessness.
Eryka has been staying at the Torres Shelter since last fall. Her experience with homelessness has been humbling, she said.
“I think it’s changed the way that I look at people who have nothing,” she said. “I had everything my whole life, and now I have nothing.”
That is part of what motivated her to join the shelter’s vocational kitchen program, a small team of about six to 10 individuals who are trained to prepare, cook and serve meals to their fellow guests at the Torres Shelter.
Participants treat this volunteer job-skills program as they would a professional job opportunity. They take pride in their work and in the meals that they prepare, cook and serve.
The kitchen crew, as it is affectionately called, is selected through a competitive process. Guests submit an application and resume and then participate in an interview. Those who are selected then go through job training.
That’s not all—all crew members then become fully certified as food handlers through ServSafe, a program administered by the U.S. National Restaurant Association.
Jacque, True North’s senior operations manager, said that in addition to helping guests learn and hone technical and safety skills in the kitchen, this program helps them build important social and leadership skills.
The shelter has had success with the program, too. Many guests who have been part of the kitchen crew have gone on to secure jobs in the local food service industry.
Adapting To COVID-19
The Torres Shelter’s vocational kitchen program has been around for more than two years now. It originally formed as “The Breakfast Club.” Guests would serve one meal a day.
Things have changed rapidly since then. When the Torres Shelter began operating 24/7 in January 2019, the Breakfast Crew started serving lunch, too. The shelter’s volunteer meal providers continued generously preparing, cooking and serving dinner.
This year, when the coronavirus pandemic began, the kitchen crew had to adapt. In order to keep staff and guests safe, the shelter temporarily could not allow visitors. Volunteer meal providers were asked to drop off donations for meals instead, since they could not prepare and serve dinners on-site. So the kitchen crew stepped up to serve three meals a day.
Now, the shelter has started allowing volunteer groups to come back to serve meals, provided they follow strict safety precautions. But the kitchen crew will still be busy, serving up two meals a day
Safety and cleanliness has always been the priority in the shelter kitchen. With the pandemic, the shelter has tightened up policies. Everyone working in the kitchen wears a hair net, gloves and mask. The shelter also has installed sneeze guards in the serving area.
Eryka, the kitchen crew manager, prides herself on leading a team that is safe, creative and flexible in the kitchen. She’s able to take a look at what’s on the shelves and whip up a delicious dish with the items at hand. On a recent afternoon, she prepared a teriyaki bowl with water chestnuts and broccoli.
Eryka said the crew prepares, cooks and serves every meal with the goal of offering something of professional, restaurant quality. They work hard to create thoughtful, nutritious meals so that they can take pride in what they are offering.
Jacque, True North’s senior operations manager, said Eryka has grown tremendously since she joined the program.
“She’s really starting to shine. Her leadership skills have come out, she’s confident,” Jacque said. “She is good at being able to manage other kitchen crew members on proper etiquette, and health and safety has been her priority.”
Darrell tends a flowerbed at the Torres Shelter. He has really taken to the shelter’s vocational programs, and works not only on the kitchen crew but on the landscape and grounds crew as well.
Another crew member, Darrell, is always ready to jump in and complete a task that needs to be done. He stays on top of sweeping and mopping the floors after meals and helps to keep the shelves with food donations organized.
Darrell is known for being one of the hardest workers at the shelter. He has really taken to the shelter’s vocational programs, and works not only on the kitchen crew but on the landscape and grounds crew as well.
His motivation to be involved is similar to Eryka’s. “I just like to help out, and I make friends with everyone around here,” he said.
Eryka and Darrell shared that their experience on the kitchen crew has offered them other unexpected benefits as well. The work takes Eryka through a meditative process that offers her peace of mind. For Darrell, it helps him stay busy, which is especially helpful to his well-being during the pandemic.
Along those same lines, he added that his experience at the shelter in general has helped change his outlook on life.
“It’s affected me a lot. It’s taught me to keep my head up high when things seem low,” he said. “We’re all kind of in this together.”
We Need Your Help
There are several ways you can support our guests and our vocational kitchen program at the shelter:
Donate goods. We accept pre-packaged (e.g., canned or boxed) foods as well as bags with all the fresh ingredients needed for a meal. Lunch items are especially hard to come by, and much appreciated! Then Eryka, Darrell and the guests in our vocational kitchen program will prepare your generously donated items on-site in our kitchen.
Serve. We are happy to share that we have started inviting meal providers back into the shelter to prepare and serve dinner! We have implemented some additional safety policies due to the pandemic.
Make a contribution. Financial donations help us purchase delicious, nutritious food for our guests.
If you have any questions, or are interested in being a meal provider, please do not hesitate to contact us at (530) 891-9048. Thank you so much for your support of our guests and our programs!