Order UP! IDD Employment Opportunities in the Food Service Industry

Employment for adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) focuses on securing competitive, integrated jobs alongside workers without disabilities. Key options include Supported Employment (which provides ongoing, fading job coaching) and Day Support programs (which offer pre-vocational skills training and community integration). FCIDD has a history of supporting local restaurant and food truck start-ups and established programs to increase the opportunities for more young adults to receive training and experience to build confidence.

Maya learns the art of thinly sliced cucumbers with the help of a cutting guard.

The Blue Bears Special Meals of Princeton, New Jersey, is a a non-profit organization employing adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. These team members serve their skills and talent one meal at a time. Every day, with the help of the staff, the cooks and waiters prepare and serve fresh and balanced meals with an incomparable international flair.

As co-founder Antoine Yver says, “When you respect and support people you create a larger and more vibrant community. Not only food matters but how you live through that experience. It’s never wrong to pursue what is just and right.”

And then there's Kindness Cafe + Play in Charlottesville, Virginia, who recently completed a project to build an outdoor seating area in their second location.

Kindness provides employment for adults with cognitive disabilities while creating a joyful, inclusive community space, and recently doubled hours at this location in order to hire more staff members. The seating area allows them to attract and host more customers. Win-win! Kindness is supported for submission of their grants by the Thomas Jefferson Participating Club.