8 minute read
Special Kneads Eats & Treats Satisfies Workers' Dreams, Patrons' Bellies
from Shawnee Outlook
by David Dinsmore
Like many of South Central’s initiatives, the idea for Special Kneads Eats & Treats came from the clients.
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In its mission to provide vocational training and employment opportunities to individuals with special needs, South Central’s job coaches work with the clients to determine what their passions are and try to find chances to follow them, said Tina Hanna, executive director of South Central Industries Inc. Many clients wanted to work in food service, but there were not always opportunities widely available locally for them.
“We wanted to give them a way to get experience and training and do something that would integrate them into the community a little bit better,” Hanna said. “That's why we decided to do a food truck.”
South Central initially purchased a snow cone stand with the plan of continuing its service, but an existing partnership with The Lunch Box changed the direction of the organization’s new venture.
Lee Rutherford – owner of The Lunch Box at 217 E. Main St. – had been working with South Central to provide working opportunities for some of its clients. She hired them to join her team to help take orders, deliver food to dine-in customers and clear tables.
“We love what South Central is about,” Rutherford said. “We love the clients. They’re a part of us (at The Lunch Box).
South Central Industries established Special Kneads Eats & Treats in April in partnership with The Lunch Box to help give its special needs clients training and experience in food service while serving “good food for good” at local businesses, meetings and special events.
“They are a blast to be around.”
When she heard about South Central’s plans to start a snow cone stand, Rutherford began working with Hanna and her staff about ideas on how to expand the concept. She already had many of the criteria South Central would need to line up– suppliers, staff, health protocols and such – that would make it easy for the organization to get its food truck on the road and out into the community.
The menu switched from snow cones to initially a sandwich-based fare in line with items available at The Lunch Box. This helped lead to the name for the food truck – Special Kneads Eats & Treats.
“With our clients having special needs, we felt like (the name) was a way to let people know that they're dealing with a wonderful food truck, but not just be overly blatant about it,” Hanna said.
The slogan that is also now part of the truck’s reputation falls in line with other South Central’s initiatives.
“When people buy from (SCI Supply that provides essential business and household goods), we say that they're purchasing with purpose,” Hanna said. “So, if they were to come eat at our food truck, what could we say that they're doing? And so that's how we kind of came up with ‘Good Food for Good.’”
South Central set a goal to get the food truck out in the community in March, but once businesses and organizations began shutting down, they pushed the debut to April 24 at FireLake Golf Course, Hanna said. While the links were open, the kitchen area was still shuttered at the time, so Special Kneads Eats & Treats came out for three weekends to serve some hungry golfers and spread the word about their food and mission.
With so many places closed for weeks and an emphasis placed on outdoor activities, Special Kneads Eats & Treats began seeing interest from other businesses and organizations like First United Bank and the YMCA to come set up shop during lunchtime for employees and customers
to enjoy in a setting that let them spread out per health and safety recommendations during the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We were just trying to meet some needs in the community when restaurants were still closed,” Hanna said. “We could go out and help serve the community.”
Special Kneads has not only helped people get a good lunch conveniently, but it also has helped clients follow their passions and get to know some new faces in the community.
“It’s so important for them to be received here in the community,” Rutherford said. “They are such phenomenal individuals.”
Special Kneads Eats & Treats has also been a great resource for fans of The Lunch Box who may not be able to make it downtown for their regular lunch break, Hanna said. Many of the items are those people could find at the Main Street eatery, but the menu also features some offerings that Rutherford and South Central created to be unique for a food truck setting, such as the walking taco that adds all of the traditional taco ingredients to a bag of Doritos to make it easily portable.
In addition to the patrons who have made Special Kneads Eats & Treats a part of their regular lunch routine, the food truck has also gained a lot of attention from those looking to host it at their event or place of business.
“It's really been wonderful in that the community has just wrapped their arms around this concept,” Hanna said. “We get contacted by local businesses, local churches, local nonprofits that want us to come out. They're wanting to maybe help highlight a special event that they're having, but they also want to help bring attention to South Central and to the food truck.”
Some locations have become fairly regular stops during the last few months while other interest has come from local civic organizations that invite Special Kneads Eats & Treats to provide foods for their regular meetings, Hanna said. Other invitations come from businesses holding special events, and even individuals have brought them in to serve food for special events, such as a graduation party earlier this year.
The daily operations of Special Kneads falls to alternating job coaches with food service experience who work with South Central clients who have an interest in working in the restaurant industry and enjoy meeting new people. Rutherford and The Lunch Box staff oversee all health measures and help out with the truck, but the real goal is for the clients to get a taste of working for something that fits their passion.
“They're not only getting to just make sandwiches, but now they're getting to make new friends because we do have kind of a repeat customer base,” Hanna said. “When a repeat customer comes up to the window, it's amazing because our clients will remember what they ordered the last time. And they'll say, ‘Do you want this again?’ So, they're really establishing friendships. They're establishing confidence and purpose. They're establishing a lot of job skills that's going to be marketable for them. So, to me, that really means that we're doing our jobs. When we're able to take their dreams and their passions and help make them realities.”
To find out where and when Special Kneads Eats & Treats will be serving up its “Good Food for Good,” visit facebook.com/specialkneadseats. To find out about scheduling Special Kneads to serve at an event or location, call (405) 275-3851.
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