One of the big questions in early adulthood is, “What’s next?” College, career and major life decisions loom large for many in their late teens and early twenties. For people with autism and intellectual disabilities (ID) and their families, this can be an especially dubious phase of life. At Taproot Kitchen in State College, PA, the doors are wide open to those with IDs, who can find direction, success and community in its culinary services.
Taproot Kitchen was founded by parents Anne Rohan and Sharon Schafer, who began a conversation with other parents about “what’s next?” as their kids approached graduation from high school and then Lifelink PSU, an extended education program for individuals with disabilities. The program, which Schafer calls “an awesome experience,” enabled their students to be included in classes with their peers at Penn State University through the age of 21.
Schafer recalls, “They were excited to graduate but, as their parents, we were well aware of the barriers that still exist. Career paths and continuing education are pretty limited. There’s a strong push from the federal level for less segregated and more inclusive education, but these programs have to develop, and there’s a need for communities to wrap around this issue.”
Schafer and Rohan decided to do just that, searching for meaningful ways their adult children could connect with their community on a stable, ongoing basis that they enjoyed.
“I was motivated to work with food,” Schafer says. “I have a son with autism, ID and ADHD, and from the moment he could talk, he wanted to make food, talk about food and share food. He’s a real foodie. I wanted to help him keep that passion.”
Her son had participated in a workshare with Ploughshare Produce, and there Schafer saw first-hand the value of community relationships with local farmers, as well as the amount of food not making it to market. At the same time, they had access to a church kitchen and a quarter acre lot, plus connections to local community gardens. A permaculture specialist helped them map out a food forest, while another nonprofit helped them develop garden beds. Taproot Kitchen was taking shape.
“We had the ability to work with local produce, often seconds, the church kitchen to work in, and a vision to create a community center. We were able to do that for about four or five years, but as soon as we got more serious about selling the food, we rented a commercial kitchen as well.”
After growing their farm network, getting the word out and catering for some events, Taproot Kitchen became an official catering company in late 2017. In its first couple of years catering, Taproot thrived, building on its community connections and gleaning “tons of beautiful produce” from farms like Ploughshare and Jade Family Farm. It worked with projects like PSU’s Food Center Project and Community Harvest, picking food at local farms. But soon, the tides shifted.
Schafer explains, “At the end of 2019, two of those entities closed shop. That was a real hurdle for us because we had done a lot of catering and were processing thousands of pounds of local produce. We were really well on our way. But, very soon after starting, there was a lack of gleaning and COVID. We were really reduced to a small, skeleton crew of people.”
A core value of Taproot Kitchen is inclusivity, and they had worked very hard to get many individuals out and participating. When COVID hit, none of the prep staff, support staff, or agencies previously bringing individuals in could come to the kitchen or work there in groups. So, like many organizations at the time, Taproot Kitchen pivoted.
“We taught ourselves how to do the farmers market,” Schafer says. “We met a lot of new people and, for about a year and a half, developed a real presence there with our menus. We had some rhythm to it and we got into our lane as far as the farmers market stand, but we didn’t do any catering, which was a big change. We also realized that the building we owned and dreamed of making our hub to host special community events would not work. The zoning wouldn’t work, there was a lack of parking and the building needed upgrades to make it a commercial kitchen. So we put it on the market.”
Losing the ability to work centrally in groups really impeded Taproot, which reduced to part-time. The team picked up a few catering jobs, like the Night to Shine prom and the Farm to School Summit. But, as Schafer says, “We only did a little bit to keep ourselves out there; to stay alive.”
By 2023, Taproot Kitchen was able to regroup and redefine its path forward. With the help of its board, Taproot’s leadership strategically chose grants to pursue. They avoided human services government grants, which could require more stringent participation levels. Schafer says, “We believed in unlimited chances for on-the-job training and testing it out to see if you liked it. We wanted something as an alternative to rules and guidelines. We wanted people to come in as they needed and wanted to, and just be a part of it.”
So they pursued USDA grants instead, specifically a Local Food Promotion grant, as Taproot supports local farmers by utilizing seconds and local entrepreneurs by utilizing an existing kitchen in its new space. In 2022, they won that grant, in addition to a rural business development grant.
Taproot currently operates out of a kitchen in the Nittany Mall. Schafer says, “We’re pretty happy there because it’s functioning as a community space. Our neighbors are non profits, and people spend time there walking or going to the gym or senior center. A lot of our former volunteers walk there.”
Taproot now has a kitchen management team and built a shared use kitchen. The organization is ready to scale and be self-sustaining by the end of the grant period. “We have a lot of people working on that goal,” Schafer says. “We have a plan and it looks feasible. We have the space now, and plan to get back to community dinners, pop-ups and invite vendors for collaborative work.”
Taproot Kitchen is developing fantastic seasonal, standard catering menus. It works with interesting products and produce gleaned through supermarket networks, like Community Cafe, acquiring extras from Trader Joe’s and Wegman’s. The customizable catering menu is based on local meets, cheeses and vegetables, and includes super-tasty options like:
- Grazing boards with veggies, dips, pestos and sauces
- Numerous scratch soups, like Taiwanese beef noodle with local chuck and bok choy, mushroom-brie, chicken matzo ball, carrot-ginger and Tuscan white bean served with focaccia or flat bread.
- Hot appetizers, like parsnip fritters and pakora
- Sandwich trays with roasted pork sandwich and homemade giardiniera, Thai butter chicken sandwich (chickpea option available) with seasonal Thai slaw, grilled chicken sandwich with provolone and chimichurri, and roasted veggie sandwich with local hummus.
Taproot caters large (300+) and small events with bespoke buffets and service. “We have a really talented catering crew that can put it together,” says Schafer.
Of all its many achievements and successes, Schafer is most touched by the team’s pride when they get out in front, serving people in their community directly. At recent events, the Taproot staff made and served hors d’oeuvres and tapas to guests who engaged them with questions and gratitude. “They were fully included as the catering team,” says Schafer. “I can’t tell you what that meant to them. They were teaming up, making plates for the band. They were having the time of their lives.”
One Taproot employee told her, “I just love being able to make people happy with food.”
Schafer adds, “Serving, rather than being served, is particularly meaningful to them. They need an opportunity, not to be in the back doing dishes, but to be out front. I guess that’s the best part for me — to see that happen.”
Keep your eyes on Taproot Kitchen, which will be moving and shaking throughout the State College, PA region. It’s at the North Atherton Farmers Market every Saturday and will be joining the Downtown State College Farmers Market and holding a grand opening at its Nittany Mall location in the near future. For custom catering at your next event, look no further!
Individuals and families interested in joining the Taproot Kitchen team are welcome to connect by visiting in person. Follow Taproot Kitchen online on its Facebook and Instagram pages. You can send catering and participation inquiries through Taproot Kitchen’s website, email [email protected] or phone (814) 574-3901.
- Photos: Taproot Kitchen
