21
Dec

Food company that provides jobs for developmentally disabled people makes itself at home at Clovis Culinary Center

“Snacks to You” has been operating in Fresno and Clovis for more than 15 years, helping developmentally disabled men and women learn invaluable job skills and feeding hungry office workers looking for a quick snack or meal at their office.

The expanding business delivers snacks like chips, cookies and candy as well as meals like salads and pasta to more than 85 offices in the area. Along the stops, office workers can purchase food without needing to leave the office.

Snacks to You started utilizing the Clovis Culinary kitchen in August of 2018 and benefited from the experience.  “Using the professional kitchen has allowed us to create efficiencies in the preparation process and we’ve recently been able to add additional items to our menu offerings,” said Ashley Rains, Connections Coordinator for Vocation Plus, Inc., which manages the organizational structure of “Snacks To You.”

Snacks to your participants hard at work delivering tasty snacks and meals.

In addition to enjoying the state-of-the-art equipment at the kitchen, Rains says the people on site have been an added bonus. “The most positive part of the relationship with the culinary kitchen has been the partnerships and the networking.  And Chef Don has been offering great advice to our team!”

In the future, Rains said she’d like to see the program grow, with more office stops and sales. “If we grow, we can add more jobs for the people we serve.  A big part of our goals for the folks we work with is to help them develop math and money skills, and Snacks to You does just that for them.” “Snacks To You also teaches the people we serve about customer service, inventory control, food safety and communication skills.”

Not only do the employees of Snacks to You learn invaluable job skills, they develop relationships with customers, “its created friendships between the clients who order food and clients who come to the program.  It’s a really good family environment,” added Rains.

Snacks to You team members delivering a healthy, flavorful lunch to a grateful client at his place of business.

Every route that Snacks to You has includes two adults living with developmental disabilities.  Vocation Plus serves 200 adults with disabilities, ranging in age from 18 to 70. They come to the program to learn important job skills and are offered opportunities to be a part of the community. Snacks to You employs 30 Vocation Plus clients.

If you’d like to learn more about Snacks to You and Vocation Plus, you can reach Ashley Rains at ARains@vocationplusconnections.com or (559) 476-8713

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