Luv Michael Co. is the non-profit that produces high quality organic, gluten-free granola, helping young people with autism pursue their culinary dreams. They will be opening their first high-capacity, commercial kitchen and learning center in Manhattan at 42 Walker St. in Tribeca on October 24th.
The company was started in 2015 by Founder and President Dr. Lisa Liberatore when her autistic son, Michael, could no longer work after the age of eighteen. She wanted to create a place where he and others on the autism spectrum could be trained, educated and have a real job working in the culinary field to fuel their confidence and have them gain enough experience to have future jobs elsewhere.
Dr. Liberatore notes that, “Luv Michael Co. was never designed to be a charity or provide young autistic adults with ‘something to do.” Instead, Luv Michael’s mission has always been to “provide a meaningful culinary vocation for the Autistic population and to produce exceptional gluten-free and natural products.”
The new state of the art commercial space, which will have a small retail kiosk, is 3,000 square feet and the “granologists” will work and train five days a week until they are prepped to take part in the manufacturing process. They use a 5-point curriculum, developed in cooperation with autism education and culinary specialists and based, in part, on the New York State food handler’s license exam. This process helps to ensure that they learn the necessary skills for working at Luv Michael, but also to thrive as they grow to become members of the working world.
Luv Michel Co. currently employs 10 ‘granologists’, providing fresh granola to Starbucks, Fresh & Co., D’Agostino Supermarkets, Gristedes Neighborhood Grocers, Wild by Nature, as well as over 60 other retailers in the greater New York City area. A replication expansion project at the Greek Orthodox Church of The Hamptons, employs ten more.
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Luv Michael Co. is the winner of a competition for non-profit food companies–sponsored by JetBlue–and was awarded the opportunity to have their all-natural, locally sourced, granola product distributed on U.S domestic JetBlue flights. With the addition of this new commercial kitchen, Luv Michael Co. will soon be able to meet JetBlue’s production requirements and the ever-growing demand for healthy, all-natural products.
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