New Urban College certificate program looks to help inner-city residents move up in food service field

At first glace, a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to an institution like the Urban College of Boston (UCB) seems like a complete mismatch — the college has no courses on farming, and they certainly are not working with livestock on the Boston Common.

But the college did receive a USDA grant this past summer to start a certificate program in health, nutrition and food Safety. The USDA is heavily involved in this subject field, and now UCB — a small two-year institution, conveniently located across the street from the Boston Common — is poised to become a leader in the nutrition and food safety industry through the creation of the Urban College of Boston Food Sciences Capacity-Building Project.

The project has two major objectives. First, it aims to increase the school’s capacity by developing a higher education program in the food sciences. Toward that end, UCB will develop and offer a 21-credit certificate program in health, nutrition and food safety, and will develop an accredited Associate of Science Degree in food sciences — UCB’s first program of study in the so-called “hard sciences.”

The second major objective is to produce graduates capable of either entering or advancing within the nation’s food sciences and nutrition workforce, thereby enhancing the field with educated, capable individuals.

Fifty students will earn the Health, Nutrition and Food Safety Certificate during the grant period, and another 25 will do so in each semester thereafter. The Health, Nutrition and Food Safety Certificate Program is intended to address the needs of low- and middle-income students in Greater Boston.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires that one person in every professional kitchen be a certified food protection manager, which requires passing an examination — a test for which UCB’s Health, Nutrition and Food Safety Certificate Program will prepare students to excel. UCB students who acquire this certification can find employment in childcare centers, schools, restaurants, hotels, hospitals and many other settings, working directly under a chef or as a team member in a larger organization.

But this certification is only the first level on the food service professional ladder. UCB graduates will be well positioned for further training that can lead to the National Restaurant Association’s Foodservice Management Professional credential, or work as a ServSafe Food Safety Instructor or ServSafe Food Safety Proctor. Higher levels of work in the food service field include kitchen manager, chef and director of training, as well as management and ownership positions.

“We are thrilled to offer this new certificate program because it reinforces our mission to address the needs of nontraditional students from Boston’s diverse neighborhoods,” says Urban College President Dr. Linda Edmonds Turner.

Courses for the Food Sciences Capacity-Building Project will begin in the spring 2008 semester. For more information, please contact Project Manager Erin Knepler via e-mail at knepler@urbancollege.edu, or call 617-348-6514.