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BFF Bakery empowers special needs community through baking

BFF Bakery began with a simple dream sparked by childhood friendship. The bakery's roots trace back to Jennifer Dees, the founder and director, whose daughter, Anna, started BFF Bakery with her best friend, Keelin, who has Down syndrome, when they were just kids.

“They had always talked, as little girls, about having a bakery,” Susan Nikolai, BFF head volunteer baker said. “They dreamed of baking cookies and having friends in, and talking about special needs.”

Today, BFF Bakery operates without any employees on the payroll, relying entirely on the dedication of volunteers. The organization aims to eventually create paid positions, driven by its mission to serve delicious cookies while providing employment opportunities for individuals with special needs, advocating for inclusion, and fostering friendships. Nikolai emphasizes that educating through employment is a key component of the bakery's future.

“What we want for our employees,” Nikolai said, “to have these interactions, and to learn how to talk with people and learn how to do different roles in a business setting. Some of them may never have been employed. So even if that’s just greeting people at the door, or sweeping in the lobby, or wiping tables, we want to get them interacting.”

Nikolai indicated that BFF plans on not just paying special needs employees, but paying higher than minimum wage.

“In the state of Indiana,” Nikolai said, “with someone with intellectual or physical differences, classified as special needs, we’re not obligated to pay them minimum wage. I don’t know if that’s well known, but if you look at the laws in our state, they are very undervalued.”

Education extends beyond just baking. Dees highlights the importance of informing special needs families about available services and the intricacies of related regulations. She notes that many parents are often unaware of the resources at their disposal.

“Individuals with special needs can’t have more than $2000 in their bank account,” Dees said, “or they lose access to all their services. Many people don’t know that. I learned this when I became a parent of a special needs child. If you don’t have the wherewithal to set up a trust for your child and to have this protected, then parents can instantaneously lose all the help that they get for these kids.”

Nikolai envisions BFF as a space where the community can learn from one another, whether through education, baking, or a combination of both.

“When our daughter hit eighteen,” Nikolai said, “we didn’t know any of this. Luckily we had friends in the community who said hey have you done this, have you done this, have you done this. Like, here’s your little checklist. But, there was no one there to hold our hand and tell us to do it. Now, maybe BFF can be that touch point.”

Dees adds that visitors to BFF receive something invaluable: a sense of being loved and valued.

“Every child, neurotypical, with special needs, every adult that walks into this place, even our customers should leave feeling loved and valued,” Dees said. “We do it through cookies!”

Unlike typical businesses focused solely on profit, BFF Bakery prioritizes community, inclusion, and support, creating a unique atmosphere that reflects its core values.

“I’ve joked from the beginning,” Dees said, “that I’m not a business woman, and I’ll measure our success in friendships and smiles. I don’t care about all the rest of it.”

Mike Murrell joined the WVPE family in August of 2024. Mike is beginning his second career in journalism and broadcasting, since retiring from the Army after 20 years of service. Mike is originally from Dayton, Ohio, but calls Elkhart his home.