Community Foods Market (CFM) opened its doors in June 2019 after a decade-long effort to address the food access needs in West Oakland. In addition to food justice, this noteworthy grocery store is dedicated to the recruitment and retention of employees from the community they serve.
Earn2Learn graduate Domonic, pictured in front of Community Foods Market.
Sharing in both values and commitment to the wellness and empowerment of the communities we serve, AHC partnered with CFM again this summer as a worksite for our Earn2Learn program. Earn2Learn intends to connect local youth with Oakland’s medley of businesses, providing training in workplace readiness, self-confidence, and career projection, all with the ultimate result of employment.
Since 2014, AHC has guided 134 youth into positions within our network of Oakland business partners. Participants have expressed that Earn2Learn helped them gain essential hours of job experience, granting access in the future to positions with varied skill sets and experience requirements. Domonic was one of many youth participants to receive paid mentored training and subsequent work that built a solid foundation for navigating a workplace.
For four days a week, Domonic would wake up at 6am to shower, eat breakfast, and take the bus to arrive in time for his 8am shift at CFM. As an entry level grocery stocker, his learning curve was steep. During a worksite program check-in, one supervisor mentioned that Domonic "had a lot of potential and showed good character", and was working consistently to improve his area of focus: communication skills.
Domonic was receptive to the feedback, and would demonstrate measurable improvements in his performance towards the end of the program. During his last week, Domonic asked his supervisors if he could be officially hired. They said yes, and now Domonic begins work at 5am, four days a week, still dedicated to his work at Community Foods Market.
Domonic’s journey to employment at CFM demonstrates how a combination of community resources and mindful business practices continues to be a necessity within West Oakland, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. As CFM profoundly states: “Our vision is to become an empowering, inspiring and transformative place to work for our employees and to enable them to feel a sense of purpose in their work. We strive to create a workplace environment where our employees are empowered to make a difference and are continuously developing and improving themselves.”
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