Community Culinary School of Charlotte (CCSC) provides workforce development training and job placement assistance for adults facing barriers to employment, including lack of skills, incarceration, addiction, homelessness, and reintegration challenges. Our mission is to transform lives through culinary training that fosters economic independence and community impact.

The Community Culinary School of Charlotte empowers adults facing significant employment barriers to achieve financial stability as they continue their culinary journey. Since 1997, CCSC has provided free workforce development and job placement services to 1,200 alumni which transform lives and strengthen the local economy.

Each student participates in a 14-week program combining culinary instruction and life skills training. Our Life Coach works to ready our students for the real world including ServSafe® certification. Whether it is learning how to be a team player in the kitchen, learning how to set a table for fine dining or working on their resumes, the Life Coach is their key resource. CCSC equips graduates with both technical expertise and personal development tools necessary for sustained success in today’s workplace.

Our students’ challenges such as unemployment, food insecurity, homelessness and limited education, mirror broader systemic issues affecting Charlotte’s economic mobility. By addressing root causes of poverty through skill-building and employment, CCSC reduces dependency, improves family stability, and provides the food service industry with well-trained employees.

Being tuition-free is an important draw for future students as 90% of our students are at or below the poverty level. CCSC’s goal is for graduates to achieve self-sufficiency through stable, living-wage employment.