SALAMANCA — Eight Cattaraugus County projects were approved Dec. 8 for the Regional Economic Development Council’s funding of nearly $3 million in 2016, one of which went to a Salamanca-based program that has found jobs for over 70 people in the past five years.

Cattaraugus Community Action, Inc. (CCA) received $37,800 for its Food for Thought Program to help provide a culinary job-training program combining classroom-based learning and hands-on instruction.

“We also received funding last year through exactly the same process,” explained Tina Zerbian, the CEO of CCA. “This is the second year we have received an award.”

The grant is a renewal that CCA first applied for and received in 2015 for the program in the 2016 fiscal year. Zerbian said CCA made the application through the consolidated funding opportunity through the economic development council, but the funding is awarded through the New York State Department of Labor.

“We originally began the program through the New York State Department of State, but that funding is no longer available,” Zerbian said.

This council’s founding focuses exclusively on special populations, so not a lot of people fit all of the eligibility criteria, she explained. Although only a small portion of people who could have taken part in the program previously are eligible now, the department of labor’s funding is an “important component of the overall funding picture.”

Food for Thought also received funding through the local department of social services. Zerbian said the department offers tuition for individuals referred to the program that might not be eligible for the department of labor program.

“We continue to seek other sources of funding that would open that eligibility up a little broader,” she added. “There are many people out there looking for work and looking for training, and it’s, unfortunately, a disservice to them that they aren’t always eligible with these new guidelines.”

Food for Thought’s instructors appreciate the source of funding coming for 2017’s classes and Zerbian hopes the program continues to be successful. Zerbian said she is not aware of any limitations to applying for the grant annually in the future.

“This is basically a performance-based contract,” she explained. “For every student that is eligible under the special populations grant, it supports all the costs associated with that particular student to go through the program.”

The costs for the program include everything from the salary for the staff involved with the training to the equipment used in the kitchen, food supplies and student uniforms.

Since 2012, Food for Thought has enrolled 144 students with 108 graduates prior to the program’s fall graduation held Friday, which had a graduating class of eight students. According to Zerbian, the program has a job placement success rate of about 75 percent.

“It’s a very, very successful program, one that we hope we can continue to provide to the community,” Zerbian said. “It’s economic development. We’re putting people to work, and that’s exactly what we need. Every little bit of these grant awards absolutely are appreciated and go towards a great cause.”

THE BIGGEST AWARD in Cattaraugus County was $1 million for Edelweiss Dairy Farm of Freedom for an expansion of their farm to 2,400 cows and replacement of their barn with state-of-the-art equipment.

The Ellicottville Brewing Co. was awarded $600,000 to locate a brewing and bottling facility and pub in the Village of Little Valley. The work is expected to result in 30 to 35 new jobs.

Other Cattaraugus County projects that received funding include: