GBC Alumni Chef Mark McEwan is a featured Chef at the Food Court Social raising money for GBC’s augmented education programs. Photo provided.

George Brown chef school alumni are serving up some great food for a great cause.

According to the website of The Food Court Social, a charity event being held in support of the augmented education program at George Brown, “the unemployment rates for persons with mental health illness are as high as 70–90 per cent.”

The Food Court Social will call up the best chefs from the best restaurants in Toronto, like renowned GBC alumni chef Mark McEwan of North 44,  on Sept. 25 at the Artscape Wychwood Barns.

James Ricci, the Chair of the Young Leaders Council, the host of the event, said it will be “a marriage of amazing food and cocktails from the finest chefs in Toronto.”

The augmented education programs help people who have a history of mental illness or addiction to learn life skills.

The two augmented education programs are the assistant cook and construction craft worker foundations, that were developed by George Brown College (GBC) and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

By focusing on employment, the two programs are skills-based and offer both classroom and practical components.

The assistant cook program runs for two semesters while the construction craft worker training program is 20 weeks. Afterwards, the graduates will step out towards a job in the food service or construction industries.

In 2012 the graduate job retention rate was 81 per cent for the assistant cook program and 83 per cent for the construction craft worker program.

Nonetheless, while the programs are free for participants, their tight budget still needs financial help despite their costs being mostly covered by the Ontario government.

“All 320 tickets have been sold out.” Ricci said over the phone, but he still welcomes donations to the program.

To donate and for more details visit http://thefoodcourtsocial.com.