The New Jersey Food Council (NJFC) was awarded a $149,400 grant from the Customized Training Program in the state Department of Labor to support food handlers and provide safety training for New Jersey supermarkets, grocers and convenience stores.
The grant will support the partnership between the NJFC and the Office of Continuing Education at Rutgers University, which administers the grant project. Training is offered to NJFC member companies to provide food handlers with extensive and required state and federal food safety and sanitation training.
“We are pleased to offer this training to improve the skill set and employment opportunities for our workforce. This grant for New Jersey food retailers ensures their employees are trained in the latest food safety and sanitation requirements,” said Linda Doherty, NJFC president & CEO. “As New Jersey reopens from the COVID crisis and more workers are needed to feed New Jersey residents who are shopping for food, this grant reinforces strong food safety practices, principles and qualifications.”
The training is a collaboration with ServSafe, through the National Restaurant Association, as well as SafeMark Supermarkets through the Food Marketing Institute.
Classes approved in the grant include:
- A 16-hour food safety training through ServSafe or Safemark
- An 8-hour course through ServSafe or Safemark
- A four-hour food handler training through ServSafe.
NJFC members participating in the grant include: Brookdale Shoprite, Inc., Eickhoff Supermarkets, Food Bank of South Jersey, Food Circus Super Markets, Heritage’s Dairy Stores, Inc., Inserra Supermarkets, Murphy’s Fresh Market, Nicholas Markets, Pennington Quality Market, Perlmart Inc., QuickChek Corporation, Ravitz Family Markets, Ronetco Supermarkets, Shoprite of Hunterdon County, Shoprite Supermarkets Inc., Stew Leonard’s, Village Supermarket, Wakefern Food Corp., Whole Foods Market and Zallie-Somerset Supermarkets Inc.
The New Jersey Food Council is the Garden State’s preeminent trade association representing 1,200 retail food stores, wholesalers, manufacturing and service companies that collectively employ more than 200,000 associates in NJ.