Carceral State

One of those worst thing about the carceral state (there are so many!!!) is that reintegration and rebuilding your life after incarceration is extremely difficult. So many barriers are imposed by state, employers, culture, etc. Philabundance is by all accounts a very good organization.

Founded in 2000 as a branch of hunger relief nonprofit Philabundance, PCK is usually described as a vocational program that works with formerly incarcerated people. But sometimes students are still in the prison system. Sometimes they were never behind bars to begin with, just down on their luck with housing or laid off from their jobs with no where else to go. Either way, PCK is there to help them take the next step.

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Philabundance has cultivated relationships with several restaurateurs and outlets to whom they know they can turn when they have job-ready candidates. Among the locations where students served internships this year are the Bynum brothers’ places (South, Relish, Green Soul, Paris Bistro); Earth Bread + Brewery; Marty Grims’ Moshulu and White Dog Cafe; Vetri’s Alla Spina and Osteria; and the cafeterias at Einstein Healthcare Network and Hahnemann and Abington Hospitals.