Munch Cafe and Catering: 2 women help create jobs for those with intellectual disabilities

It's Friday morning in the basement kitchen at the Living Spirit Centre in Regina.

Brayden McNeill, who has a cognitive disability, is measuring out ingredients for a balsamic vinegar dressing.

It's fun to work with food and a good experience- Brayden McNeill

Today's order is for marinated vegetable salad, a fruit platter, and chicken soup. It's for a school lunch.

McNeill has been a part of Munch Cafe and Catering since it started in February.

"It's fun to work with food and a good experience," said McNeill.

 Munch began with the passion of two Regina women, Emily Tarr and Gwen Herman.

Both have a strong drive to support those with disabilities and help them find work.

"I have the capacity and the skills and the compassion to be able to do this work," said Tarr.

 The two women believe that offering skills and experience to those with disabilities is the key to creating employment.

 "A lot of employers are hesitant to hire people with disabilities because they feel there might be more work involved," said Tarr.

The City of Regina is a welcoming and inclusive community- Gwen Herman

Tarr and Herman are currently devoting fifteen to twenty hours of volunteer time per week to getting Munch off the ground.

Herman says they want to give those with intellectual disabilities a leg up in the job market.

"Our goal is to get them each to have a food safety level one certificate," said Herman.

Big plans for the future

At the moment, Munch is doing small catering jobs–lunches and small, casual gatherings.  Over time they hope to expand and one day open a cafe.

"It's in our name, Munch Cafe and Catering, because that's our dream," said Tarr.

Herman believes a cafe could be a big success. "The City of Regina is a welcoming and inclusive community," said Herman.

"It's a little niche that our community could open to," said Tarr.

McNeill says he's learned a lot. For instance, the secret to good chicken noodle soup is "just enough salt and pepper to give it taste."

He's had jobs before, at a bingo hall and a grocery store, but he likes his work at Munch the best.

"It's a fun place to work and everyone's great to work with," said McNeill.