Serving Wisconsin · Correctional · Reentry · Workforce

A credential. A routine.
A second chance that holds

GrayWell Work turns Wisconsin returning citizens into employable foodservice workers — pairing the nationally recognized ServSafe credential with hands-on culinary training and wellness coaching, so people leave with a certification employers ask for and the skills to hold the job.

Partner With Us See the Program
Release → Routine → A Paycheck
A culinary trainee learning knife skills beside a chef instructor in a professional kitchen
ServSafe certification-ready
Who We Are

We prepare people for the job — and to keep it.

GrayWell Work prepares Wisconsin inmates and returning citizens for the transition from institution back to society. We turn returning citizens into employable foodservice workers, pairing hands-on culinary training and the nationally recognized ServSafe credential with job-readiness and wellness coaching.

The result: participants leave with a real certification employers ask for — and the skills, habits, and support to hold the job once they have it.

Become a partner →
A proud culinary graduate holding a framed ServSafe food-safety certificate in a professional kitchen
The Skills We Bring

Five skills. One employable graduate.

Every part of the program turns preparation into a credential, a habit, and a paycheck participants can build a life on.

🛡️

ServSafe Food-Safety Certification

Full ServSafe-aligned instruction — safe handling, temperatures, and sanitation — preparing participants to earn the credential.

Industry credential
🔪

Hands-On Culinary & Kitchen Skills

Knife skills, cooking methods, recipe execution, and professional kitchen conduct.

Job-ready skills
💵

Food Budgeting & Self-Sufficiency

Shopping, meal planning, and stretching a fixed income to run a household independently.

Daily-living stability
🤝

Job-Readiness & Wellness Coaching

Work habits, communication, interview prep, goal-setting, and mind-and-body wellness tools.

Employment retention
🌿

Nutrition & Healthy-Habits Education

Applied nutrition, balanced menus, and healthy routines that support recovery and focus through reentry.

Mind & body support
Why It Reduces Recidivism

A job and a routine — instead of a gap.

Stable employment is one of the strongest protections against return to custody. The first weeks after release are the highest-risk window — people leave without the practical skills to feed themselves, hold a job, or build a routine.

By pairing a recognized industry credential with the soft skills and wellness support that keep people employed, we help correctional and reentry partners close that window with a job and a routine — lowering recidivism and giving participants a foundation they can build a life on. Foodservice is one of the most accessible industries for people with a record.

0 Skill areas in every cohort
0 ServSafe: the credential employers ask for
0 Goal-based & completion-documented
0 Release → routine → paycheck
What Participants Gain

Every skill maps to an outcome.

Skill areaWhat participants gainOutcome
ServSafe Food-Safety Certification Full ServSafe-aligned instruction — safe handling, temperatures, sanitation — preparing participants to earn the credential Industry credential
Hands-On Culinary & Kitchen Skills Knife skills, cooking methods, recipe execution, and professional kitchen conduct Job-ready skills
Food Budgeting & Self-Sufficiency Shopping, meal planning, and stretching a fixed income to run a household independently Daily-living stability
Job-Readiness & Wellness Coaching Work habits, communication, interview prep, goal-setting, and mind-and-body wellness tools Employment retention
Nutrition & Healthy-Habits Education Applied nutrition, balanced menus, and healthy routines that support recovery and focus Mind & body support
Credentials & Standards

Built to partner with correctional teams.

✓

Serving Wisconsin — correctional, institutional & reentry partners statewide.

✓

ServSafe Food Protection Manager — Certified.

✓

Diploma in Human Nutrition; Certificate in Coaching Health & Wellness.

✓

Person-centered, goal-based curriculum with progress & completion documentation.

How We Deliver

Flexible, on-site, and outcomes-first.

In-person hands-on training inside facilities and at halfway houses and reentry sites, plus live virtual sessions statewide. Flexible cohort sizes and program length, delivered on a simple fee-for-service basis — per class or per participant — with completion reporting.

  • On-site & virtualInside facilities, halfway houses, and reentry sites — plus live virtual sessions statewide.
  • Flexible cohortsCohort sizes and program length that fit your schedule and space.
  • Simple fee-for-servicePer class or per participant, with completion reporting.
  • Pilot-friendlyWe welcome small, outcomes-focused pilots so partners can measure impact before scaling.
Partner With Us

Close the highest-risk window together.

We partner with correctional facilities, halfway houses, and reentry and workforce programs across Wisconsin. Start with a small, outcomes-focused pilot and measure the impact before you scale.

We respond within two business days.