Our Mission

The Snapchef Foundation is dedicated to providing workforce development, community building, and sustenance to our community’s most vulnerable.

We Achieve Our Mission Through

  • Fostering Lifelong Partnerships with Community
  • Community Food Relief
  • Creating and Supporting Culinary Educational Programs

Our History

In 1996 Todd Snopkowski was the sous chef of the 1996 Olympic Games hosted in Atlanta, Georgia preparing 30,000 meals a day. One of the biggest challenges he saw was the tremendous waste of perfectly good food. He took charge of a food recovery program in Olympic Village where he would properly handle the food leftovers(HACCP) and give the “extra” to local communities in need.

Unfortunately, he was not permitted to proceed with his plan and all of the food went to waste. Thankfully Todd kept up the fight in food insecurity and almost 20 years later, in 2015 his dream of helping people was finally realized.

In 2015, Todd and Daniela applied for a training grant. The purpose of this grant would be to create a program for which they would offer free training classes to help aspiring cooks and chefs to learn, while still being able to work.

Once the grant was approved, the chef apprentice program was born. The program combines supervised on-the-job training with classroom instruction. Our team leading this program consist of both current and former executive chefs as well as former faculty from some of the best culinary institutions in the country.

The Snapchef Foundation also contributes to raising money for scholarships that help students at Johnson & Wales university with their education. Not only do we help provide scholarships but we also “practice what we preach”, by providing internships to no less than 8 interns per year as well as hiring students both while in school as well as recent graduates looking to break into the business.

When the COVID-19 outbreak occurred, the demand for staffing decreased nearly overnight while there was a dramatic increase in demand for food. Todd and Daniela had the idea to convert the training kitchen into a production kitchen. Together, they teamed up with the City of Providence to provide over 3,000 meals per week to families in need.

Our Team

TODD SNOPKOWSKI
Co-Founder

Todd Snopkowski, a pioneer in the food industry, has been leading the charge on workforce development, community building, sustainability and hunger alleviation for more than three decades…

DANIELA SNOPKOWSKI
Co-Founder

As a company CFO and co-founder Daniela Snopkowski has been with Snapchef from the start, and is the driving force behind the company’s financial management and human resources functions…

ARWEN ROBITAILLE
Interim Executive Director

With a degree in Business Management and a passion for all things food, Arwen comes to us with over 10 years of managerial experience. Growing up in an Italian kitchen, she learned how to cook…

MOHAMED FAYED
Director of Culinary

Like so many in our growing Snapchef family, Mohamed brings a wealth of global cultural experience – and a return to his passion for food after initially pursuing a more traditional career path…

KEN DESMARAIS
Director of Culinary Business Development

“Well . . . I’ve had quite a ride before arriving at Snapchef,” says Ken with a grin. “Let’s see . . . after completing culinary school at Johnson & Wales, I’ve worked as a chef aboard La Costa Resort’s…

WILLIAM MCDONOUGH
Director of Apprentice Training

“I love helping people that are looking for a new career. Helping to teach news skills and then helping someone find a permeant job is really gratifying to me.” Will has been a valued part of the Snapchef team…

CAYLIN MONIZ
Culinary artiste

Caylin joins the team as she finishes her Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts and Food Service Management at Johnson & Wales University. When she was little, she would join her mom, grandmother, sisters…

Our Advisors

GEORGE O’PALENICK
Senior Advisor

George remains more than understated about his global culinary footprint and his contributions to culinary education – and would rather talk about his efforts to help young culinarians succeed…

PATRICK BENCH
CEO, Founder, Benchmark Strategies

Patrick Bench is the Founder of Benchmark Strategies. In this role, he provides public affairs and lobbying counsel to clients in Massachusetts. Bench specializes in economic development and…

AARON SAUNDERS
SVP of Public Affairs, Benchmark Strategies

Aaron Saunders serves as the firm’s Vice President of Public Affairs, focusing on the legislative, regulatory, and municipal needs of clients. Before joining Benchmark, Saunders…

SALVATORE DI STEFANO
Economic Development Director, City of Gloucester

As Economic Development Director Sal prepares, manages and administers the city’s economic development program; promotion and encouragement of business development in Gloucester…

MARIA NIGRO DI STEFANO
Northeast Regional Director at Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Born and raised in East Boston, Maria Nigro Di Stefano grew up in a mostly Italian neighborhood learning the English language at the age of five. She graduated from Salem State University…

Thank You to Our Corporate Partners & Sponsors

 
Gotham Greens
Whole Foods
Granny Squibb
Tourtellot
 
 
Quality
Hopes Harvest
Portion Meats
Baffoni
City of Providence Healthy Communities