At last, hot fudge that makes you feel virtuous instead of guilty.

Next time you stroll the aisles of Roche Bros., Star Market, Wegmans, or Whole Foods with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s in your cart, grab a tub of COOP’s MicroCreamery hot fudge, too. The topping is handmade by clients enrolled at Project Place’s Working Opportunities for Women (WOW) program. They stir each batch by hand, pour it into the sunny yellow jars, and hand-seal the wax top.

WOW launched in April. It’s part of a broader initiative by the South End’s Project Place, founded in 1967 to offer work opportunities, job skills, and housing services for homeless and low-income Boston-area clients.

The hope is that participants gain skills to land work in the food industry.

“We believe you can work your way out of homelessness,’’ says Marcie Laden, Project Place’s director of development.

The new WOW initiative focuses on women for a reason.

“It’s tough for women to get on their feet again. Many of these women have been out of the workforce for a long stretch, several currently live in homeless shelters, and several are mothers,’’ says Laden.

Many of Project Place’s female clients had expressed concern about losing critical housing, nutrition, and child-care benefits by working, particularly at jobs that still couldn’t offset expenses. WOW is a response to this fear: It encourages the women to change their mind-set around employment by teaching them marketable job skills and by offering career counseling and networking training that will lead to fulfilling, long-term careers.

About 70 percent of clients ultimately land permanent jobs through the organization. This year, roughly 20 women will work in WOW’s targeted training program for three months and then receive help transitioning to full-time work.

South Boston-based COOP’s is the group’s first marketing partner, but Project Place plans to collaborate with other food manufacturers in the future. It’s not all about packing and shipping, though. In addition to acquiring manufacturing skills, the women also learn a bit about marketing: You can find the fudge at local farmers’ markets this summer, sold by WOW clients.

Best of all: It tastes good. Many fans liken the topping to Brigham’s rich hot fudge of yore. At $9.95 per jar, it’s a worthy — and delicious — investment.

COOP’S MicroCreamery Hot Fudge, www.coopsmicrocreamery.com and www.projectplace.orgKARA BASKIN

Kara Baskin can be reached at kcbaskin@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @kcbaskin.