PHOTOS COURTESY COOKIE COOKIE ICE CREAM

Cookie Cookie Ice Cream
Kennedy Township: 1815 McKees Rock Road
cookiecookieicecream.com

Cookie Cookie Ice Cream sells desserts, but the story behind the family-run business in Kennedy is even sweeter.

Since opening the business in September 2022, Connie and Ken Feda and their brood have worked with the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation to train special-needs transition students to make and sell cookies, ice cream and coffee. They work with seven area schools.

“It’s incredibly relevant and important to put people with disabilities in the community with a job in actual, functional ways,” says Connie, who has hired five adult-students through the OVR’s On-the-Job Training program.

Cookie Cookie goes the extra mile when it comes to customer and community service, but it’s also a for-profit business that makes customizable ice cream sandwiches. The best-selling Fat Elvis is two scoops of banana ice cream between a thick, chewy peanut butter cookie and an equally enormous chocolate crinkle. They serve it in a basket with a spoon because this is a sandwich fit for The King.

So, how did this hunka-hunka frozen love come to be?

Addison Fox was fed up with his career in the Wisconsin tech industry. After taking a few business courses and a meditative trip to Iceland, he moved back to the ’Burgh to live a more analog life.

His mom and stepfather, Connie and Ken Feda, were also looking for a change, something they could do with their adult special needs daughter, Hannah. The 23-year-old has Down syndrome and one heck of a work ethic.

The family of eight put their heads together over home-baked Christmas cookies and hatched a cool plan.

“I didn’t want to do a full bakery,” Connie says. “That’s a lot, and I’m just somebody’s mom who bakes cookies.”

Icing down the menu and opening an artisanal ice cream sandwich joint seemed like the best option.

Addison enrolled in Penn State University’s Ice Cream Short Course for a “cow-to-cone” education and was ready to make the move from software designer to hard-packed ice cream maker. But a global pandemic put those plans in a deep freeze.

Fortunately, the Fedas thawed those dreams out in March 2022 when they signed the lease on the former Bob’s Diner space in Kennedy Center.

Luckily, the diner relocated to the neighboring storefront — so you can eat breakfast before chilling out at Cookie Cookie, which also sells pastries, milkshakes, sundaes, floats, coffee and tea. Their addictive UNIcorn snack is available in 5-ounce bags; imagine a cheese doodle sans cheese that is instead drizzled in homemade caramel and topped with a Lucky Charms marshmallow.

Addison is the ice cream man/mad scientist who creates tasty desserts using plant-based ingredients. Of the 16 flavors available on a given day, eight are regulars and four are dairy-free options.

The machine creating the magic is a Carpigiani vertical batch freezer manufactured in Italy. Air is folded into the ingredients rather than whipped, creating a more uniform and creamier product.

Addison enjoys making tiny test batches to gauge the public’s interest in eclectic flavors such as chili fig and sage pecan. The best-seller at the shop is Stracciatella, a gelato with super fine speckles of chocolate. It’s a sweet gig.

Reese Feda, 20, provides one-on-one coaching through their job at Bender Leadership Academy, a Moon-based organization that helps people with disabilities on paths to employment, including at Cookie Cookie.

Workers spend 13 weeks doing on-site training. If they are improving but not ready to be hired, they can join the next wave if they’re still interested.

No matter what they’re doing behind the counter or in the back of the house, the employees gain a sense of self-esteem and independence and patrons get a great deal, even if they have to wait a little bit longer for it.

“There’s something I’ve figured out after 23 years,” Connie says. “The only thing that is different between Hannah accomplishing a task and my other children accomplishing a task is time. We are constantly streamlining our operation while still preserving the feeling that nobody is rushed.”

Cookie Cookie streamlines as much as possible by making the dough and freezing it a day or two ahead and then baking throughout the day so the treats are at their fresh-from-the-oven best.

Staff members with intellectual disabilities do everything from scooping ice cream and cleaning to placing branded stickers on cardboard cups, a simple task — but a valuable lesson. Next summer they’ll branch out to a mobile unit that provides event catering. Cookie Cookie will be one of 25 establishments dishing out eats at Best Buddies TasteBuds event on Dec. 4 at Downtown’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Local chefs team up with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to create signature dishes that attendees can sample throughout the evening.

“Everything about this journey has been a leap of faith and a soft pillow on the other end,” Connie says. “My mother always told me I jump into things with both feet and don’t look. Being in this space with the students and the customers who support them has completely renewed my faith in people. It’s happy, inclusive and delicious.”

PHOTO COURTESY CAFE MOMENTUM

Cafe Momentum
Downtown: 268 Forbes Ave.
cafemomentum.org/pittsburgh

In March, Cafe Momentum opened Downtown with a mission to serve good food and beverages while helping young people get their lives moving in the right direction.

The 4,000-square-foot, nonprofit restaurant near Market Square doubles as a culinary training facility for youths involved in the Allegheny County Juvenile Court system. Since Cafe Momentum’s Pittsburgh debut, 53 interns have completed orientation. Of those, there are 19 active interns in the 12-month, paid program, ranging in age from 15 to 20.

The Cafe Momentum concept was launched in Texas in 2015 by Chef Chad Houser, who was inspired to combine food and community service after working with young men at a juvenile detention center.

He taught them how to make ice cream.

That cool volunteer position turned into a passion. Houser now works with approximately 150 teens a year at the flagship location. The farm-focused, chef-driven restaurant is continually named one of the top eateries in Dallas.

During the 12-month program, interns learn all aspects of the restaurant business, as well as life and social skills.

“We don’t necessarily want to create a new group of restaurant workers but give our young people a chance to find what they’re really good at and use those skills throughout their lives, no matter what career they choose,” Executive Director Gene Walker says.

The team has spent more than a year raising $1.4 million to transform the former Wolfie’s Pub and Pizzuvio spaces at 268 Forbes Ave. The eatery is BYOB and operates for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

The ever-evolving menu developed by Chef Peter Henry offers a variety of gourmet dishes made with fresh, local and seasonal ingredients, including coffee-rubbed ribeye, wood-fired pizzas, fish, salads and charcuterie boards. A signature plate, the smoked fried chicken with mashed potatoes, collard greens, black pepper gravy and a buttermilk biscuit, was carried over from Cafe Momentum’s original location.

A professional staff guides interns through nine restaurant stations, from the front-of-the-house to the open kitchen. Walker says employees were selected not just for their expertise but for their dedication to helping teens and young adults.

There’s an adjoining Community Services Center that provides interns with an ecosystem of support when they’re off-duty. The 3,900-square-foot space includes a classroom, meeting rooms, a lounge with lockers, a TV and gaming system and a pantry stocked up with free toiletries, feminine hygiene products, snacks and clothing.

Donations can be made by contacting Director of Programs Cheyenne Tyler, and there are volunteer opportunities available. The primary areas of need are for educational tutors. People can also help by dining at Cafe Momentum or funding the I’m Thankful Plate Project developed by artist Shane Pennington, an evolving art installation created by the staff and interns.

Cafe Momentum works with about two dozen nonprofit partners throughout the city to provide additional support for young people, from addressing housing instability and health care to providing GED classes and career exploration. Staff members keep tabs on interns up to a year after they graduate from the program. Walker says Cafe Momentum is currently working to provide a child-care facility.

Walker wants the Pittsburgh site, which can accommodate up to 105 diners, to be the model for other locations opening up in Atlanta, Denver and Nashville, Tennessee. He spent years working for The Pittsburgh Promise and says the experience ignited his passion for community service.

“Everything I believe I’m meant to do in my career is here,” he says. “I want to see young people succeed.”

COMMUNITY KITCHEN PITTSBURGH LAUNCHED A BUTCHERY PROGRAM IN 2021 | PHOTOS BY HEATHER MULL

Community Kitchen Pittsburgh
Hazelwood: 107 Flowers Ave.
ckpgh.org

Hazelwood’s nonprofit Community Kitchen Pittsburgh recently beefed up its curriculum with a butchery program.

In 2021, the organization partnered with Unified Fields, a Pittsburgh-based collective of artisan butchers offering training, consulting, mobile slaughter and meat processing, to start a butchery course.

Since then, CKP has received a USDA grant to open a dedicated processing facility on its third floor and sell grass-fed beef, pork and lamb products at Bloom Café, the retail storefront that operates from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. The eatery uses scratch ingredients to make everything from pastries to burgers. Customers can stop by for a sandwich, burger or grain bowl and take home fresh cuts of meat.

Unified Fields sources animals from local producers, including Barberry Farms in Sewickley. CKP students break down the meat into retail cuts and ground products such as patties and sausages.

Since age 18, principal trainer Ben Buchanan has been committed to locally sourced, sustainable farming and humane processing while teaching others his craft.

“It’s fulfilling to be feeding people, educating people and giving more people access to good food,” he says.

All students take a 16-hour butchery course to learn about the different equipment used — from knives to bandsaws — to cuts of meat.

“One thing we are moving into this year is more customizable, non-diploma training opportunities so that people don’t have to do the full diploma program if they want to just take a specific course or focus on a specific track,” says Jennifer Flanagan, CKP executive director.

Since launching in 2013, the employment-based social enterprise has had two missions: hunger relief and job training.

The target population includes people who are overcoming adversity or experiencing barriers to employment or to advancement. Individuals can apply through the program office or attend a monthly open house, fill out an intake application and chat with CKP staff. There are professional chefs who participate in culinary training and staff members who focus on job readiness skills and supportive services.

“We identify their barriers and concerns and create a training and service plan for each incoming student that will include supportive services, referrals and other wraparound assistance, in addition to culinary training,” Flanagan says.

Classes are held weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the 12-week culinary diploma program.

Since the pandemic started, CKP has deepened its ties with partner employers committed to employee retention, opening career pathways, paying good wages and offering other workplace benefits. With the growth of Hazelwood Green, there’s been an uptick in the catering, cafe business and special events.

In the fall, CKP hosted a sausage-making workshop and a Farm-to-Fork dinner featuring all local producers and farms. The organization also brought back popular programs, including its Guest Chef series (Jen Saffron, owner of Sprezzatura in Millvale, led the way in October) and Passport Lunch, weekly lunches featuring regional and ethnic cuisines.

CKP hopes to add a food truck soon.

When the as-yet-unnamed vehicle hits the road it will serve a student-developed menu of American fare, similar to the grub served at Bloom Café. The unit will be equipped with taps so it can pour beers from Hazel Grove, a brewery opening in the neighborhood.

In addition to being a teaching tool, the food truck will expand CKP’s reach beyond Hazelwood, its home base since 2018.

When COVID hit, it went into community service mode — and never stopped.

Through its Community Meals Program, the facility distributes thousands of meals a day to shelters, schools, elderly care centers, nonprofits and low-income/food-insecure families throughout Allegheny County.

“We’re on track to prepare and serve about 450,000 meals this fiscal year,” Flanagan says. “And of course, we integrate this production into our training, so it’s really a win-win, with students learning the trade while giving back to the community.”