This program is supported in part by a grant from the Haverhill Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
The Urban Bridges Food Forward culinary workforce development program is having an impact on the community with students preparing meals for those in need.
Eleven students from Haverhill are learning marketable culinary skills under the guidance of Chef Tal Woods, preparing for the ServSafe Food Certification exams. The hands-on training program takes place in the kitchen at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Haverhill. As part of their training, Food Forward students assist in preparing the free weekly take-away meals distributed by the church.
“We are grateful for the use of the kitchen while the Trinity Trinidad Episcopal Church kitchen undergoes renovations,” said Urban Bridges Executive Director Kelly Townsend. “This partnership has been a great success, and our students are delighted that the food they prepare benefits local people in need.”
The church Community Meals Program started around 1999 on Ashland Street, providing a freshly cooked meal for neighbors and friends. The current program serves a meal from 2:30-4:30 p.m., every first, third and fifth Saturday with volunteers at the Calvary Baptist Church serving meals at their church on alternate weeks. In November of 2025, the program expanded, offering a take-out meal Wednesdays, from 4:30-5:30 p.m., from the Universalist Unitarian Church’s lower-level community space dining room.
“It’s an honor to provide a kitchen for Food Forward’s training. And we are grateful that the participants are helping support our Community Meals with their food preparation, enabling us to provide an additional meal every Wednesday evening to the Saturday meals we were already doing. The collaboration is inspiring, and the aromas filtering through our building when they go to work are terrific,” said Rev. Susan Milnor, interim minister, Universalist Unitarian Church of Haverhill.
Those seeking information about upcoming training classes, or to inquire about employing graduates, may email Kelly Townsend at [email protected].