Kindred Bakery BK

Kindred Bakery BK (https://www.kindredbakerybk.org/) is a non-profit community bakery and training program in Flatbush, Brooklyn.  Kindred runs an 11-week, hands-on, baking and culinary arts program for marginalized youths with disabilities and who come from low income communities.  While the program is open to people of all backgrounds between the ages of 12 and 25, classes are tailored to give low-income youth and people with disabilities tools & skills to use in their home kitchens and beyond.  Instructors use the “I Do - We Do - You Do” technique of teaching, working in small groups so that every student is able to get individualized attention and supportive feedback.  We take pride in making healthier baked goods using alternatives to processed sugar, flour and utilizing fresh ingredients sourced from local farms and supermarkets.  Students will showcase final products at “pop up” sales.

Kindred is currently in start-up mode.  We launched our inaugural culinary arts program at the end of September 2023.  Our founders bring a lifetime of experience to the development of this program and enlisted the support of experts in this field, including bakers with decades of experience, a seasoned accountant and auditor, a psychologist with extensive experience with young people, a strategic development consultant, and a fundraising expert, among many others.  This team is building Kindred’s program brick-by-brick (or perhaps loaf-by-loaf) taking well-informed, prudent steps to financial sustainability and community impact.

Activities for the coming year

• 11-week culinary baking program for 6 students.
• Promote respect and teamwork among students.
• Create opportunities for interaction and engagement between students as well as with the community, and for each student to showcase their skills and abilities.
• Host guest speakers from culinary schools.
• Organize tours of bakeries.
• Organize pop-up events for students to showcase their baked goods.
• Actively recruit students from a diversity of marginalized backgrounds, screen them for a good fit.
• Communications and outreach (social media, e-newsletter, tabling at events) to local community members about program and eating healthier
• Form partnerships (e.g., sponsorships, donation of ingredients, donation of baked goods that students make, potential pipelines to employment) with local universities, colleges, culinary schools, and restaurants.

Marginalized communities are those excluded from social, economic, educational, and/or cultural life.  One group in particular are people with disabilities. Did you know that one billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience some form of disability?  Persons with disabilities, on average as a group, are more likely to experience adverse socio-economic outcomes than persons without disabilities. Inclusivity is both a moral and economic imperative; marginalized people should not be excluded from participating in the economy because of their abilities or socio-economic background.

Kindred Bakery is a sensory friendly space, utilizing user-friendly and comprehensive training technologies. The “I Do - We Do - You Do” technique of teaching will enable our participants to thrive.  Kindred’s curriculum provides hands-on training in professionalism, food safety, pastry/baking arts and operations. All while learning healthier baking methods and the sourcing of nutritious ingredients. Once these foundational skills are acquired, the participant can use them to pursue job opportunities, seek further professional development in a culinary school and be proficient home bakers. We envision expanding the Kindred Bakery model to other communities in the Tri-State area and beyond, spreading the joy of baking while uplifting communities as a whole.  Our mission is to acquire our own brick and mortar space to accomplish these goals.

Qiana Daniels and Nigel Thompson are the co-founders of Kindred Bakery BK.  This pilot is a baking and pastry arts training program for teenagers and young adults of marginalized backgrounds.  Combined we have decades of experience in public education and social services in New York City. The continued barriers that our 18-year-old autistic son will encounter as he prepares to enter the workforce has led us to this project.