By Daniel Kaiman, Congregation B'nai Emunah, Tulsa, OK
The Enterprise
Congregation B'nai Emunah in Tulsa, Oklahoma has a long history of community involvement and service. In the summer of 2011, the congregation decided to challenge itself again. After working on a project at the Altamont Apartments, a facility operated by the Mental Health Association in Tulsa, the community felt it could do more.
Enter the best chocolate chip cookie, ever. In late summer 2011, Rabbi Marc Boone Fitzerman, convened a group of pioneers and described his hope of establishing a commercial bakery at the Synagogue. The first task for research and development: one chocolate chip cookie to rule them all.
This is a pro-social enterprise operated out of the synagogue kitchen. The idea is bold, but relatively straightforward. The Synagogue operates a commercial cookie bakery by employing formerly homeless individuals who are struggling with mental illness as commercial bakers. Together, supported by volunteers from the community, the project bakes several thousand cookies a week. Those cookies are sold all over the city (coffee shops, gourmet grocers, hospital cafeterias, etc). Proceeds from the sale of the cookies are turned around and used to pay the bakers a wage for their hard work.
The Bakers
Two anecdotes really tell the story of the bakery. First is the story of one of the bakers. Prior to her employment, this individual had spent many years on and off the streets. Notably, this woman experienced almost monthly trips to the emergency room as the imbalance of life rarely swung in her favor. Since beginning her employment in the bakery almost three years ago, she has had not one trip to the emergency room. These stories of transformation abound. The lives of the bakers are changed through the life skills they learn on the job and the lives of the volunteers lives are transformed by developing real relationships with Tulsa's neediest population.
The Product
Another story worth noting is about how our business is seen in the broader community. The project has received some modest recognition locally and nationally (the cookies were served at the National Governor's Association in 2013). Generally, the bakery is recognized first for its social service work and secondarily for the product. But recently a story in the local paper, listed the bakery in the company of some of the finest professional bakeries in the city. What’s notable is that the business model was hardly mentioned in the article and the recognition is coming on the back of a significant achievement - the project is producing top notch cookies.
As the community falls in love with this work, the business is growing. Orders often outmatch capacity and the product line is ever expanding. Just this month, a new “Sugartop” sugar cookie was introduced to the market and initial customer feedback is showing high marks.
Projects like this require fire to keep the oven baking. The synagogue partners with the Housing Faith Alliance and the Mental Health Association of Tulsa to provide critical social service expertise and support. The bakery operations are led by Nancy Cohen, a dedicated volunteer and expert project manager and a dedicated professional staff supports the logistics. This is how we use our synagogue kitchen in Tulsa, Oklahoma.