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New DC/TEP Partnership Opens Culinary Management Career Paths

Since 2012, KRA has supported the DC Department of Human Services (DHS) as a TANF Employment Program (TEP) Provider, offering comprehensive Career Services that include an Education, Occupation, and Training (EOT) Program that equips our jobseekers with the workforce tools needed for sustainable employment, offering coaching, credentialing support, and hands-on workforce-services training that bridges education and opportunity.

Another program, Job Placement, helps work-ready customers transition from EOT (or other effective training program) into meaningful employment, providing personalized coaching, job-search assistance, and retention support to ensure the resources and confidence needed to succeed in the workforce.

Candyce Nettles, Program Manager—shown in a photo captured during a visit to DC Central Kitchen on February 12,2026—reported recently, “DC/TEP has entered into an exciting partnership with DC Central Kitchen’s  Culinary Job Training Program (CJTP)—a free 14-week course that prepares jobseekers for careers in the food-service industry through ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification. Fourteen customers expressed interest initially, with 10 attending the CJTP information session, and enrolling in the program!”

KRA is excited about the future employment and career advancement opportunities that our DC/ TEP customers will experience. According to ZipRecruiter, as of February 2026, a ServSafe Manager in the Washington, DC metro area earns an average annual salary of approximately $67,165—about $32.29/hour—with typical annual wages ranging from $47,400 to $77,300.

Top earners in the area make more than $112,000 depending on experience, specific role, and venue, e.g., restaurants, hotels/resorts, cafeterias, senior-living communities, hospitals, et al.

Ms. Nettles concluded, “Our relationship with DC Central Kitchen was spotlighted on February 12, during the DHS/TEP Roundtable event, and based on current success, we look forward to a long-term alliance that will result in strong and sustainable employment opportunities for our customers.”

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