A tender pork stew brews in the kitchen as a fresh tomato salad is served. This isn't just any kitchen and Vernon Kerver, who goes by Rusty, isn't just any cook.

“The meat's gotta be real tender. A lot of these guys don't have good teeth, you've gotta think about things like that,” said Kerver, St. Francis House’s kitchen manager.

The meals he's creating are for people who don't have a home and depend on St. Francis House for a meal. It's all thanks to a program at First Coast Technical College.

Kerver knows what it is to be hungry. He was once in their shoes.

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“It really brings your psyche down and one of the only things that you could protect yourself with is to numb the pain and so you drink. That's what I did,” Kerver said.

Kerver now has a full-time job as the kitchen manager at the shelter he once lived in.

“I do what I've always wanted to do and that's cool,” Kerver said.

The First Coast Technical College program is called "Fresh Starts." Chef Ted Kowalski teaches the four-week class.

“They leave with a sanitation certificate, which allows them to get a job in the marketplace. They gain hand skills, confidence,” said Kowalski.

All the food is donated—the chef coat, aprons and hats are too.

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The students don't pay a dime thanks to proceeds from the Spanish wine festival and other organizations.

Kowalski will teach his seventh course next month. For Kerver, it's more than a fresh start at life.

“I enjoy the way people feel when they eat my food,” Kerver said.

It gave him a purpose, it gave him hope.

“If it wasn't for this place with the tough love and all of that I probably would've been gone a while ago like a few of my friends,” Kerver said.