On Friday evening, Carolinas Cross Cultural Health Services hosted a job fair for Ruiz Foods at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Florence.
Darryl Davids, Senior Human Resources Manager, made a presentation on available jobs and fringe benefits at Ruiz Foods.
More than 100 people showed up to the job fair.
“[I’ve been] trying to survive…and that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 13 years, is just basically trying to survive rather than live,” said Calvin Ayala, who was one of the attendees.
The father of five, having spent most of his life in food service, is trying something a bit different.
He hopes to trade in his apron for a factory job.
“Finding work has just been a huge challenge,” he explained.
Over the summer, the California based company broke ground on a $55 million investment in Florence County.
It will bring 500 jobs along with new opportunities.
“I wish I would’ve done things different…maybe get a degree, it would have helped my career out some but i love to cook and that’s why I stuck it out as much as I could…but as I got older got married, got a family thought see if i could find something different,” Ayala said.
“This is a new stage in my life, so reinvent myself,” he added.
If you missed Friday’s session, Ruiz Foods will hold more job fairs across the Pee Dee in the coming weeks.
Count on News13 to keep you updated.