The South Bay is rich with organizations that strengthen our community by providing the educational, health, and social services that citizens need and which the government cannot fully provide. Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit one of these outstanding organizations, Mychal’s Bakery & Coffee. Mychal’s Bakery & Coffee provides baked goods and coffee service for local businesses, community events and private catering. All of Mychal’s bakers and baristas are young adults with developmental or intellectual disabilities using this opportunity to demonstrate that they are talented and able contributors to our community.
Through the generosity of Sodexo cafeterias and Torrance Memorial Medical Center, Mychal’s Bakery & Coffee was given the opportunity to open the first Café by Mychal’s Bakery & Coffee. All items sold at The Café are produced by students at Mychal’s Bakery & Coffee and/or on site at The Café providing critical work experience for students. “Our students love coming to work. It provides them with the purpose to get up each morning and to make a difference,” said Page Sacks, Director of Development.
All students start as “baristas in training” in the coffee program, receiving extensive training in espresso drink making, customer service, cashier training, and sanitation and safety. Students work on their California Food Handler’s certification during this training period as well. Upon completion of the program, students are offered an interview that can lead to part time employment.
In the bakery program, students learn how to read recipes, use accurate measurements, and make baked goods from scratch. Bakers are involved with all aspects of production, including measuring, mixing, use of all oven and commercial equipment, inventory management and packaging.
Mychal’s Bakery & Coffee, located at 2841 Lomita Blvd., Torrance provides a wide variety of products including cookies, scones, muffins, cupcakes, cake pops, specialty logo cookies, coffee cake as well as gluten free and vegan options. All items are baked fresh daily.
In addition to the onsite location, Mychal’s Bakery & Coffee is also mobile and offers three different coffee catering services: coffee service, barista service and premium barista service. They are available to set up at public events or office buildings with a pop-up booth or food truck. To learn more, visit www.mychals.org/bakery.