Sweet success filled the air recently as participants in the newly relaunched Coletta’s Crossing Bakery proudly made their very first batch of cookies, marking an exciting milestone in the return of St. Coletta’s Bakery Job Training Program.

The revitalized program is made possible through a Dignity in Pay Program grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services, which provides $150,000 annually through 2027 to support the initiative. Designed to expand access to integrated employment opportunities and eliminate subminimum wage activities, the Bakery Job Training Program prepares individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for meaningful, paid work in the food service industry while fostering confidence, skills and community connection.

Before ever stepping into the bakery, participants completed a four-week classroom curriculum focused on essential food safety and sanitation procedures. Each participant earned a ServSafe Food Handler certification, a nationally recognized credential, before advancing to hands-on training in the commercial kitchen.

The first day in the bakery focused on orientation -- learning where ingredients, tools and equipment are stored and understanding proper workflow. On day two, Bakery Manager Elsa Espinosa Diaz demonstrated the full cookie-making process, showing participants how to prepare sugar cookie dough, roll it evenly and cut out shapes.

By the third day, participants were ready to take the lead.

They began by putting on hairnets, washing their hands and washing, rinsing and sanitizing their work areas. After washing their hands again and putting on gloves, they started mixing butter and sugar in a stand mixer, taking turns adding ingredients as Espinosa Diaz guided them through the process and pointed out changes in color and texture along the way.

“We want all the butter and all the ingredients to get together,” she explained. “See that? It’s starting to come together.”

Before rolling out the dough, participants once again cleaned their workstation, washed their hands and put on fresh gloves. “Remember, before you start a new task, wash your hands and put on gloves,” Espinosa Diaz reminded them -- reinforcing the food safety lessons they had worked so hard to master.

The heart-shaped sugar cookies will be baked and shared with CDS participants at an upcoming Valentine’s Day party, where they will be iced, decorated and enjoyed together.

Each quarter, a new cohort of participants completes the four-week training program and transitions into paid, on-the-job training positions earning minimum wage within the bakery. Paid roles include Baking Assistants, Bakery Packaging Assistants and Bakery Porters, supporting up to 40 individuals annually through a combination of classroom instruction and real-world work experience. By 2029, St. Coletta’s will fully phase out subminimum wage activities in compliance with the Dignity in Pay Act.

For now, baked goods from Coletta’s Crossing Bakery will be sold in-house. Once the bakery receives its business license, sales will expand throughout the community -- including local churches, businesses and farmers markets -- with plans for an online ordering system in the future.

The first batch may be small, but it represents a big step forward for Coletta’s Crossing Bakery—and many more sweet moments to come.