TAMPA — A couple stints in prison for drug-related and other charges made for a "rough job hunt," as Joshua Keene put it.
But he always loved to cook. That's where Metropolitan Ministries came in.
Three months ago, the 36-year-old Keene joined the ministries' Inside the Box Culinary Arts Program. Now he has an externship lined up with Mise en Place, the upscale restaurant and caterer near the University of Tampa.
The Inside the Box program is now offering even more job training opportunities. Metropolitan Ministries announced Wednesday that it's expanding its food service training program to offer more products at Tampa International Airport.
Inside the Box is a four-month culinary training program that offers the disadvantaged a culinary education and a change to land a stable job in the food service industry. The program has helped 55 people get food service jobs within 60 days of graduating, said Metropolitan Ministries CEO Tim Marks.
There are two Inside the Box cafes , one in downtown Tampa, at 505 N Tampa St. and another in the West Shore district at 1715 N Westshore Blvd. The newest location at the airport opened in May.
The student-produced meals are being sold at the StellarBay convenience store in Airside C. Food items such as fruit cups, cookies, wraps and sandwiches cost about $6 to $8 each.
Stellar Partners CEO Susan Stackhouse said she's happy to buy Inside the Box's products and re-sell them through her airport store. She's been working with Metropolitan Ministries to set up this partnership for two years.
"This is truly a win-win partnership for everybody in the Tampa Bay community," she said. Tampa International Airport CEO Joe Lopano said this is another way for the airport to fulfill its goal of making more "local concepts" available to patrons.
"We're teaching people about what the Tampa experience is like," Lopano said.
Marks said Metropolitan Ministries' food service arm and thrift store account for about $1.5 million in annual revenue against an overall annual budget of roughly $16 million.
The Inside the Box program's student-workers will leave the program with ServSafe credentials from the National Restaurant Association. The program is "all about getting your skills," Marks said.
The students aren't paid but don't have to pay for classes either, he said.
"It's a way that they can get involved in the real world," Marks said.
Lopano said the new partnership will "create hope and to create jobs."
Keene said it's done exactly that for him, offering "extraordinary life skills" he hopes to use in future jobs.
Someday, he'd love to start his own restaurant.
"I've always loved to cook," he said, "I just wanted to try it on as a career and I've grown to really love it."
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Explore all your optionsContact Samuel Howard at showard@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3373. Follow @samuelhhoward.