For 20 years, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC’s Providence department has proven that food can do more than nourish—it can open doors, restore dignity, and create opportunity. What began as a small culinary training program has grown into one of Second Harvest Food Bank’s most dynamic strategies for strengthening communities, developing talent, and delivering fresh, nourishing meals where they are needed most.

“We have people that come here that have different challenges and obstacles in their life,” he said. “We work with people as to the best of their abilities. I ask students in the beginning, ‘Do you want to be just OK or good or very good?’  It starts right here with the fundamentals. Can you cook rice pilaf? Can you make a vinaigrette? An emulsion so it doesn’t separate in five minutes? The end result is that plate right there. I tell them in the beginning, ‘I’m not going to

Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC successfully completed the first trial run of its new Meal Response Unit—a mobile kitchen designed to deliver hot, nourishing meals to communities in crisis.

At 62, Daniel Barkley never expected to find himself back in a professional kitchen. More than twenty-five years had passed since he served as a Navy cook, where he fed sailors with precision and care. Even longer had it been since his days working in restaurants. But after leaving the military, life led him in different directions—working as a carpenter and handyman, enduring periods of hardship, and, ultimately, facing homelessness.

Fueled by Purpose, Georgette Brousseau’s Journey Volunteering with Second Harvest Continues

Vanessa Lanier—Now, she can add another significant achievement to that list: becoming an American citizen.

Chef Cherisha (Cookie) Williams fills her days with food. She caters formal dinners for couples, hosts events for small groups, teaches...

The pandemic and a pineapple upside-down cake pushed Quinta Ellis, an educator, to pursue her dream of opening a restaurant, even though...

Fratellis – a popular, local steakhouse, is home to a number of Providence graduates, and on one thing they all agree: A key ingredient...

If you've ever attended one of our graduation events , and we certainly hope you have, you'll probably hear something like this: "We're...

Meals that matter Brian DePaulis stared at Wake Correctional Center’s walls in Raleigh and Dianah Bethel eyed another garage door to be...

"Food for 15,000? No problem!" ​ That’s what students from Providence Culinary Training will be saying after they have successfully...

These are the words Providence Culinary Training (PCT) graduate Shereen Gomaa lives by and what guides the work of the non-profit she...

Ag \ ri \ pre\ neur\ ship Referring to entrepreneurship in agriculture. Defined by the spirit of entrepreneurs who are creative, take...

Meet Terrell Anistead, graduate of Second Harvest's Providence Culinary Training, CC 37-2016, and rising star in Winston-Salem's food scene.

Second Harvest’s Providence Culinary Training graduations are uniquely wonderful events. At the request of Providence’s founder, Chef Jeff B

If you stop by Second Harvest Food Bank’s Providence Culinary Training, chances are you will see Steven Jones. Steven, 23, is handsome...

Charles Jarvis, a graduate of Providence Culinary Training, says there are a million ways to make a dish-- and a life.

“If I had known you were going to take my picture, I would have done my hair!” laughs Ebony Spencer as she walks through the Providence...

Vanessa learned about Providence Culinary Training (PCT) when she was searching for a plane ticket home. Originally from Barcelona, she had just left a controlling marriage, one where she couldn’t drive, couldn’t write a check.