Not only does South Fork Bakery produce some of the finest baked goods on the East End, they provide meaningful and paid employment to adults with special needs. Employees at South Fork Bakery are immersed in all aspects of the business including mixing, baking, packaging, and selling.
The company first formed in May 2016 by Executive Director Shirley Ruch. Ruch holds a Masters in Speech and Language Pathology and has been working to improve the lives of adult children with disabilities for over 30 years through her private practice in Sag Harbor. She started South Fork Bakery with six employees, who were previous clients.
“They had graduated from high school and didn’t have opportunities for work and that’s why I started the company, to provide meaningful and paid work for many of my clients who had graduated and were just sort of lost,” she recalled, noting that there was not much support for adults with special needs such as autism, Asperger’s, Down Syndrome and other developmental disabilities, once they graduated from high school.
In 2018 South Fork Bakery applied for and received its non-profit status. It formed a board of directors and have now grown from six employees to 20. They are also focusing on a training program, which will prepare its employees with basic job skills so that they can be placed in jobs throughout the community.
The pilot program started last year and two participants from the program went on to work for another food producer at the Stony Brook University Incubator at Calverton. Ruch notes that there have been a number of food producers who have since asked to get involved.
You can find South Fork Bakery goods throughout the East End at a number of farm stands and shops including Amber Waves Farms, Balsam Farms, Sylvester Manor, Goldberg’s, Schiavoni’s Market, and Hampton Coffee Company. There are about 40 venues where you can find South Fork Bakery goods.
“We started out with four products — our blondies and brownies, and oatmeal and gingersnap cookies – then we added chocolate chip, we’ve added biscotti, we’ve added macaroons,” said Ruch.
The employees are involved in all aspects of the business from running the farmers markets (you can find them at Southampton, Sag Harbor, East Hampton, and Springs) to delivery and sales.
“We thought, ‘we need to be thinking about all of the skills that they’re capable of doing and trying to find places where they can fit into the community,’” said Ruch.
Most of the recipes for the baked goods were created by Chef Jessica Taccone, along with Ruch, from the beginning. “Jessica has been the baker since day one,” said Ruch. The blondie recipe was gifted to South Fork Bakery by pastry chef Lauren Chattman. “It’s a great recipe,” said Ruch.
Recently, in a program spearheaded by Linda Shapiro, local chefs and restaurant owners have been visiting the kitchen at Scoville Hall in Amagansett to talk with the employees. The first speakers included Jason Belkin, the owner of Hampton Coffee Company, and Chef Peter Ambrose.
“It was great to have Jason come in and talk to the employees and tell them about how he started the business. It’s inspirational for them… it’s really nice for them to see people who have been successful,” said Ruch.
Ruch expressed the importance of having the employees hear from people within the industry that they are a part of. “They take great pride in what they do — making the bars and cookies — and to see other people in the food industry recognize them and come out and spend time with them. I think it’s very motivational for them… and it makes them feel like they’re part of the industry,” said Ruch.
“Peter Ambrose came in and he was lovely and told them about his business and how he started out years ago, and how his business grew, and they ask great questions.”
To learn more about South Fork Bakery, visit southforkbakery.org.
