The city is expanding a free program to cultivate culinary businesses in Queens.
Officials said interest in the Food Entrepreneurship and Services Training Space, known as FEASTS, has grown since it kicked off in 2016, focused on Jamaica.
It will now be able to accommodate 250 students over the next two years in classes located in other parts of the borough as well as in Jamaica.
Students in the 12-week course receive training and mentorship from experts in the food industry. Classes, which serve between 15 to 20 students, are held at Queens Library locations.
One site in northern Queens will feature training in English as a Second or Foreign Language.
According to the city’s Economic Development Corporation, about 50 percent of the 100 students who graduated from the program were able to start successful businesses in the food industry.
“Jamaica FEASTS has played a pivotal role in providing training and business development support to the next generation of culinary entrepreneurs in Queens,” EDC President James Patchett said in a statement.
