Face of Nation : A small-town bakery is celebrating 10 years of serving fresh bread, hot coffee and providing a learning space for people with employment barriers who are looking to improve their skills and get some work experience.
The Skeena Bakery in New Hazelton — a small town with a population of less than 600 in northwestern B.C. — combines a business on one side and a non-profit society with a social mission on the other.
Braunwyn Henwood, manager of the bakery, said the idea came from what the founding members saw happening in the community.
“There were a lot of people in our community, mainly youth, who were either graduating or leaving high school and becoming young adults but having no skills to put on a resumé,” she said.
The bakery employs several full-time regular staff to run the business; working alongside them are people with a variety of disabilities or employment barriers, including developmental or social issues, no high school diploma, or non-literacy.
