“If we do not hire them, they’re still a marketable person because of the skills that they developed along that continuum.” “So not only are we really working to increase healthy food access, we’re also working to address the issue of finding jobs for individuals who are coming out of recovery, and who are coming out of prison,” he said. Jones said the project aims to not only create 42 jobs for those in recovery or coming out of prison over the grant’s three-year life cycle, but to use the cafe and other food businesses as social enterprises to provide training and empowerment for those who may struggle to find employment.įarming and food service is traditionally more flexible than other sectors, and the program hopes to capitalize on that. Then they can move to working at the cafe and, soon, a food truck and catering service. They learn about farming and working in the food service industry both in the classroom and in the two hydroponic greenhouses.
The women in recovery participating in the program begin their training at KISRA’s Paradise Farms. Reggie Jones CEO of the Kanawha Institute for Social Research and Action stands inside one of the greenhouses at Paradise Farms in Dunbar, West Virginia. He’s CEO of the Kanawha Institute for Social Research and Action, or KISRA, which is a project partner. “The idea of the enterprise as a whole is that we want to be able to take a seed, put it in the ground, grow it, harvest it, process it, and get it out to the social enterprises, like the cafe, like the catering business, like the like the food truck, and create training opportunities and jobs along that entire continuum,” Jones said. “Welcome to Paradise Farms,” Reggie Jones greets visitors to a greenhouse as ventilation fans whir above beds of greens. The AFE comprises the cafe and an urban farm located just a few miles away. Last October, the AFE received a $760,000 federal grant from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Community Services. The cafe is part of a larger program that aims to use agriculture to create jobs for those in recovery and coming out of prison called the Appalachian Food Enterprise, or AFE. In a region with some of the highest overdose death and addiction rates in the country, people are looking to programs like these as a way to both nurture recovery and provide more nutritious food to communities. She is lead barista and helps with the desserts.Ĭafe Appalachia is just one example of a growing effort around the Ohio Valley that puts people in recovery in food service and agriculture jobs. “If I’m struggling, if it happens to be one of those days, you know, I have a whole support system here that understands,” she said.Īutumn McCraw has been working at Cafe Appalachia for about four months. “To know that the community is supporting me and having my back is such an essential part of my recovery.”Īlmost everyone who works at Cafe Appalachia is in recovery and McCraw says being part of a team that understands what that means and can support her has been a game-changer. “As addicts in society we’re shunned,” she says. McCraw heard about Cafe Appalachia while participating in long-term addiction recovery treatment. “It’s something that I really like to do.”īut this cafe is more than just a job. I also try my best to make the desserts,” she says. “I start my tasks as the barista here and making coffee, make sure the tea’s prepared. Her days here typically start around 8 a.m. The 35-year-old Charleston resident sports a maroon apron and greets every customer with a smile. Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSourceĪutumn McCraw inside Cafe Appalachia, which provides jobs and training to those in recovery and serves local food produced nearby.Īutumn McCraw helped prepare today’s meal.