The ingredients for building community

WHEN you visit the Friendship Bakery, one of the first things you’ll notice is that the bakery and retail space are separated by glass.

“We chose to have glass windows, and the reason is we don’t want people with disability behind closed doors,” founder Chana Kavka said.

“We want people with disability to be involved in the community, part of the community. That’s where they belong.”

A subsidiary of The Friendship Circle, the bakery connects people with and without disability to the community through a retail outlet, while providing a skills development and training program in baking and hospitality.

Trainees work alongside mentors who provide guidance, professional support and assistance in following recipes, learning to manage stock, using point of sale systems and delivering customer service.

“We want our young trainees to learn enough skills that they actually are employed,” Kavka said, adding, “The idea is that people with disabilities should be involved in the community just like everybody else.

“There are not enough programs that actually do what we do. And so if we can start trying to break those barriers down a little bit, we’re going to have really great outcomes.”

Bakery manager Ilana Akres said, “We’re really trying to mimic a regular work environment, so that people can transition more easily … they come in for an interview, they have to fill out paperwork, and then when they start they log in.

“Just a couple of weeks ago, one of our trainees received full time employment so it means that what we’re doing works.”

Trainee Laura said, “My favourite part of working at the bakery is making coffees and serving customers, it’s a really fun place to work.”

The social enterprise originated several years ago with a challah baking program at Jesse’s Bakery.

“He was actually just starting. He was making challah and I said to him, ‘what do you think if we come and make challah with you and bring some people with a disability?’ And he said, ‘why not’,” Kavka recalled.

“Jesse was fantastic. Honestly, without him we would never have started.”

After a number of years, with Jesse’s moving its production out of the area, a decision was made for Friendship Bakery to take flight on its own.

“Our mission at Friendship Circle is about community,” Kavka said.

“And so we thought, if we’re really going to create community, we need to open up our own space.”

With a $200,000 NSW government grant, the organisation was ready to move forward.

“We’re very, very lucky that when a Jewish organisation puts something forth, the entire Jewish community gets behind it. I really believe that’s why we won [the grant],” Kavka said, adding, “We’ve had a huge amount of donors who have come forward, and they’ve been really, really generous in helping to support this.”

The bakery has now been operating at its site at Mark Moran Vaucluse since before last year’s delta lockdown. Kavka said feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The community has been amazing. People really love what we’re doing,” she said.

“I think the experience is when you walk out, you feel like you bought something that’s going to sit on your table, but you also feel good that you’ve done something to involve the community.”

Friendship Bakery’s outreach is “a very good bridge” between the Jewish and wider communities, she said.

“Quite a few of our skills development mentors who work alongside our trainees are not Jewish,” she added.

One of the hurdles, she said, is still creating awareness that the bakery is open.

“People will come in and say this is incredible, this is amazing. How is it the first time I’m hearing about you?” she said.

“We definitely have lots of ideas in regards to how to build this up. Because I think this has huge potential, and there’s huge need.”

“We’ve actually got a whole bunch of people who are looking to get involved. That to me is really a sign of success, that the young adults want to be involved more, and they really feel that they’re learning.”

Follow Friendship Bakery: Facebook @sydneyfriendshipbakery, Instagram @friendshipbakerysydney, Web friendship bakery.com.au