IQALUIT
They make "ridiculously amazing, tasty food" and are in high demand for catering across Iqaluit.

Adult group home manager Carolyn Curtis and Inclusion Cafe employee Bobby Nattaq prepare soup for an April 10 community dinner at a launch event - Casey Lessard/NNSL photo

Now, the Inclusion Cafe - a skill-building project that gives people with disabilities the chance to learn culinary arts - is working to become a bona fide business.

"The future looks exciting," said volunteer Nalini Vaddapalli. "The orders keep pouring in, and we're volunteer-run, so this is the year we want to draft our business plan, submit it, and take it to a whole other level. Meaning we would have full-time employees, a co-ordinator, a venue where the Inclusion Cafe would not only cater but would be a place for a basic cafe."

The Inclusion Cafe launched at the 2014 Alianait festival, where visitors could buy treats including vegan soups, and is expanding its repertoire of ideas with a Meals on Wheels program coinciding with a Toonik Tyme community dinner.

"If they're not able to get out of the house, it provides them with a great meal," said Jen Colepaugh, territorial home and continuing care co-ordinator for the Department of Health.

Colepaugh connected the project with 10 of her clients who said they would appreciate the catering.

"It allows them to feel like they're able to participate in a community event they might not be able to get out to on their own. It would help them feel included as part of the community."

The Meals on Wheels idea has been on the radar for some time, Vaddapalli said. The Inclusion Cafe now has almost a dozen employees.

"Some of them have risen to the challenge and are doing so well that in about a year, once we get off the ground with our business plan and can offer full-time jobs, they can get off income support."

That's good news for adult group home manager Carolyn Curtis.

"There's a lot of people sitting at home with nothing to do," Curtis said. "They have abilities and a lot to contribute. Their abilities are not being tapped into. Obviously (the Inclusion Cafe employees) have a lot of talent."

An organization which assists people with disabilities recognizes the benefits people receive from gainful employment.

"For those of you who have paid work, you know the intangible benefits you receive from your work," said Nunavummi Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Society executive director Wendy Ireland. "It's different than it is if you're volunteering. Getting that work and having that meaningful connection with people, having your own pay cheque, having your own money and being able to decide what you want to do with that, is really empowering and will change how somebody is viewed in the community and their relationship with the community."

Until the Inclusion Cafe has its own venue, the cooks are working out of the Qayuqtuvik Society soup kitchen.

"We want to do more with our space," said vice-president Sarah Brandvold. "We want to be an inclusive space. We want to help build an inclusive community, and help to empower people to be self-reliant and feel good about themselves, and to be meaningfully engaged in the community. We want people to approach us with ideas for using the space in a productive way that builds relationship, that strengthens the community."

And of course, the food tastes great.

"They make really good food," Brandvold said. "There's not a lot of this coconut oil, chickpea flour, organic deliciousness happening (elsewhere). We like the fact that people who may be facing barriers to participation in society are coming here and learning things, and they're visible in the community. That's aligned with our values."

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