2025 Annual Newsletter
Featured Story: Harvesting Dreams through Supported Employment
Since 1983, Bittersweet Farms has always been ahead of the curve. In response to forthcoming policy changes, this summer we took a new leap forward, moving paid Bittersweet vocational programming into the community.
The Supported Employment Program officially launched in July, and in just three months, the program has facilitated community-based employment for 21 participants at five local businesses.
The program is a win-win for local businesses and Bittersweet participants, as businesses’ needs are met and participants are offered paid employment in the community, many for the first time! In the Supported Employment Program, Bittersweet staff provide on-going structure and support for participants as they spread their wings and share their skills with their local community.
Partner businesses and community work sites are crucial to the success of the program. In collaboration with the City of Toledo Parks Department, participants with gardening and groundskeeping experience maintained and beautified the flower beds at Promenade Park and Levis Square in downtown Toledo this summer. Apollo’s Basket, a lavender farm in Swanton, provided another community-based employment opportunity for participants who had been trained on-site through the Bittersweet Gardens Program.
In addition to partnering with local businesses, Bittersweet moved its art and cookie production into the community this summer! Participants are now baking our world-famous Bittersweet cookies at the Northwest Ohio Cooperative Kitchen (NOCK) in Bowling Green, and creating art at the Sofia Quintero Art & Cultural Center in Toledo to be sold at community festivals and events.
While change can be challenging, especially for individuals with autism, change can also create new ripples of positive impact. Abby Ritzman, Assistant Executive Director of Programs, says, “It has been incredible to watch our participants and team move through these changes together, and rewarding to see so many participants’ dreams of community-based employment come true!”
Keerston, who has been working at Apollo’s Basket, shared that she enjoys “pulling weeds and other tasks” at the lavender farm. We love to see Keerston contributing her gardening skills she cultivated at Bittersweet to the community!
While we have already harvested many successes in the Supported Employment Program, this is only the beginning! We look forward to the achievements that will bloom in years to come from the seeds being planted in the program today!
The Supported Employment Program is funded in part by the Trompeter Family Foundation, the Target Community Impact Grant, and the Robert A. Stranahan Charitable Advised Fund.
