This story first appeared in the Spring 2025 edition of our “Peas & Carrots” newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here.
Have you ever wondered how electronic items like TVs or phones are recycled? In Indianapolis, you don’t have to look far for the answer. Located just three miles from Second Helpings is RecycleForce, a nonprofit committed to reducing crime through employment and job training.
Their 11-week workforce development program is designed specifically for formerly incarcerated individuals and provides jobs in their recycling facility as De-Manufacturing Specialists, breaking down electronic items into pieces that require different recycling processes. Successful participants can be promoted to serve as team leads and peer mentors on the warehouse floor, where more than 120 people work.
Between on-the-job experience on their warehouse floor and classroom training to earn certifications in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), forklift operating, financial literacy, and more, this program prepares graduates for a variety of jobs – including at RecycleForce.
“Most of our staff started here going through our program,” said David Davis, Reentry Case Manager. “We have had lots of internal promotions – we’re always watching for people with leadership potential.”
RecycleForce also provides a variety of wrap-around services for their program participants, including help getting a driver’s license, social security card, housing, and other basic needs that become incredibly difficult to secure post-incarceration.
Those additional services include is food from Second Helpings. Since December 2023, we have provided more than 3,800 pounds of non-perishable food items for RecycleForce. When food arrives, the newest class is invited to partake first. “People often go straight from prison to orientation here, and their first paycheck comes at the end of the first week, so we prioritize helping tide people over that week,” Davis said.
“The food you provide is invaluable for our team,” Davis continued. “Not only is it much healthier than what people can get other places with a limited budget, but any stressors that we can help alleviate for our people can increase their chance of success.”
If the details of this program sound familiar, it mirrors many of the wrap-around services we provide for our Culinary Job Training students. In addition, our partnership with RecycleForce extends beyond a bi-weekly food pickup.
Since February 2024, RecycleForce has also helped us expand our own recycling program. Twice a week, RecycleForce picks up pallets of plastic and metal from Second Helpings to recycle. In that time, we have recycled nearly 12,000 pounds with RecycleForce.
From sustainability to workforce development, Second Helpings and RecycleForce make a perfect partnership.
“Work is therapy,” said warehouse manager Rob Smith, who has worked at RecycleForce 13 years, after first graduating from their program. “So many people here haven’t really worked before, so it’s pretty powerful to have the opportunity to earn your own wages doing such important work. Everyone here is an earth hero!”