LOCKHART, Fla. – This week’s Getting Results Award winner was looking for a program that would encourage her daughter, who is autistic, to become interested in the culinary arts. When she didn’t find the right fit, she started her own nonprofit.
Home Of Bright Choices holds a monthly cooking club, promotes the members’ cottage food businesses and will soon partner with Valencia College to offer a certificate program for young adults with disabilities.
Shanon Rhodenbeck reaches in the cupboard and pulls out a stack of measuring cups.
“I’ll need flour, brown sugar, baking soda and vanilla extract,” the 19 year old said as she collected all the ingredients for a batch of cookies.
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Rhodenbeck is in her family home. Her mom, Arlene is by her side.
“Shanon has been cooking since she was about eight years old,” Arlene Rhodenbeck said. “She’s taken over the evening cooking, but baking is a little more difficult because we emphasize preciseness. You have to measure correctly.”
Sweets By Shanon is Rhodenbeck’s cottage food business and her first step toward independence. With any luck, she’ll fulfill her dream of a job or career in the food industry.
Shanon is self-taught, following along with video tutorials, apps and celebrity cooking shows.
She’s comfortable in the kitchen, mixing ingredients at her own pace. She packs and ships small batches of cookies to supportive customers.
“Shanon has a challenging time processing the sensory environment. If there’s too much noise, she has a hard time filtering the noises,” Arlene Rhodenbeck said.
Shanon says cooking is relaxing and fun, adding she enjoys the feel of the food and the smells it makes as it cooks.
Arlene Rhodenbeck looked for a program or organization that could help her daughter take the next step and build her confidence. She came up empty.
“Individuals with special needs often hit barriers when seeking a career in the culinary arts,” Rhodenbeck said. “Those barriers include a lack of access to appropriate support and instruction. Programs are often too advanced or not advanced enough.”
So, Rhodenbeck started a cooking club as part of her nonprofit, called Home Of Bright Choices.
“My hope is that we can provide a program that provides an avenue for individuals in the culinary arts, who may not be able to access them otherwise and for them to gain skills that will help them throughout their lives and increase their employability,” Rhodenbeck said. “Home Of Bright Choices not only creates a great culinary hands-on experience but also a ‘lifeline’ to independence through the culinary arts.”
Right now the group is small. Each participant requires a dedicated assistant.
“Everyone has different needs and abilities so it has to be the right fit. Even our program isn’t right for everyone,” she said.
About 10 participants recently went on a field trip to the Valencia College School of Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management’s Downtown Orlando campus.
Rhodenbeck is in talks with the school and there are plans to offer a Culinary Skills Certification Program within Valencia.
Alex Erdmann, Dean of the School of Culinary Arts & Hospitality, said the program may start as early as next year.
“It’s amazing,” Erdmann said. “It’s a great start. I don’t know anyone else doing anything like this in this country. I see this as something that can be much bigger.”
Erdmann said the program would be a way to verify proficiency for future employment.
Rhodenbeck hopes to partner with businesses that may be able to offer retail space or catering opportunities to sell baked goods created by the organization.
She said her hope is that Home Of Bright Choices will one day offer residential as well as vocational support for adults with cognitive disabilities.
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