Cafe training gives foster kids a fresh start

Cafe training gives foster kids a fresh start

Fresh Start Cafe opened Wednesday inside the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder's Office at 1106 Madison St. and operates weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The program is an innovative public-private partnership through Alameda County and Aramark, which provides food service for the sheriff and probation departments. It is geared to help give youths from the foster care system a leg up as they search for job opportunities and transition into adulthood.

Employment at the cafe is designed to provide a 10-week on-the-job training and mentoring experience. Young people are paid $8.25 an hour and are encouraged to develop marketing and customer service skills as they move from foster care to independence. At the end of the program, the participants receive a certificate in food handling to better position them to land jobs or other opportunities in the food service industry.

Note: A McJob training program for foster children to help them to make the best of a life shooting for no better than Burger King. Probably convincing the sheep that they're actually doing something for these kids before they dump them out on the street and cut them off for good while claiming that they gave them the tools to make it in this world. How generous.

I'm sorry. I just think that if foster care was such a great thing it would be turning out doctors and lawyers. Instead it turns out fry cooks and big chunk of the homeless population. But hey, it's in their best interest right?