Combatting The Cliff with Baking

At the age of 21, people with disabilities reach what is commonly called โ€œThe Cliffโ€. At this age, individuals age out of programs run by IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. โ€œItโ€™s called The Cliff because either they jump or they regress, and a lot of them stay home and [their] skills regress. So I thought, โ€˜How do I help them?โ€™,โ€ said Shiri Reuveni-Ullrich, the founder of Rising Above Bakery in Nyack. Her answer brought her right back to the heart of her work; the kitchen.ย 

Shiri Reuveni-Ullrichโ€™s background began in speech therapy. For over 20 years, she worked with pediatric individuals with special needs in New York and New Jersey, but after two decades of work as a speech therapist, Reuveni-Ullrich was craving something more. Baking had always been a part of her work with her students, sharing with the RCT that โ€œwhether we had a kitchen or not, it didnโ€™t stop me.โ€ She remembered her students coming up to her every Thursday just to double check that they were indeed going to be baking today. For many, it seemed to be the highlight of their week.ย 

Theย  growth and joy that her students demonstrated while in the kitchen made Reuveni-Ullrich realize that for individuals facing The Cliff, baking might be just the ticket to personal and professional growth. โ€œOne day I stepped out of the kitchen where all my students were baking and just listened to the humming and the sounds that came from the kitchen. These are primarily autistic individuals that are nonverbalโ€ฆThey find a voice in the kitchen. They sing, they talk, they laugh, theyโ€™re just the happiest people.โ€

Baking is a universal language. In every corner of the globe, families and loved ones come together to bake for holidays and celebrations, creating memories revisited again and again. โ€œIf we want to socialize, thereโ€™s always food aroundโ€ฆ it binds people together,โ€ said Reuveni-Ullrich.ย 

For people with special needs, finding opportunities to socialize can be sparse. Connor, one of the bakers at Rising Above, shared how he loves coming to work because โ€œIโ€™m socializing, Iโ€™m talking to people, working as a teamโ€ฆItโ€™s amazing when I come here.โ€ย 

After copious amounts of study, freelancing, and teaching, unfortunately for Reuveni-Ullrich a certain global pandemic hit New York. When the two week quarantine turned into three, then four, then five with no end in sight Reuveni-Ullrich decided she was tired of waiting. She opened up Rising Above right in her own home and converted her dining room into a bakery.ย 

For two years they operated out of her dining room. Reuveni-Ullrich chose to begin Rising Aboveโ€™s journey with sourdough bread, as the process of creating the bread is very grounding and sensory-focused. The only issue was that sourdough takes time, which meant long periods of sitting around and waiting. Not one to rest on oneโ€™s laurels, Reuveni-Ullrich added granola to the menu. Still, her bakerโ€™s appetites for learning were not sated. Today, the Rising Above Bakery menu includes cookies, pies, scones, vegan options, gluten free options and more.ย 

As time passed Reuveni-Ullrich brought more and more people onto the team. There are now around 45 people involved with Rising Above Bakery, split down the middle between individuals with special needs and volunteers.

As they grew, the team spread the word through the power of Rocklander word of mouth and social media, and five years later the team is in a very different place both metaphorically and literally. Rising Above Bakery no longer operates from Reuveni-Ullrichโ€™s dining room, but instead from within RCCโ€™s Hospitality Culinary Arts Center. Eventually, they would like to move to their own brick and mortar store with an open design kitchen, allowing the public to get to know the bakers and โ€œ…really observe a moment of happiness,โ€ said Reuveni-Ullrich.ย 

Luke, one of the bakers at Rising Above, was prepping cookies as we spoke on his involvement with Rising Above. Luke has been involved for years with the bakery, and he has a name you might recognize. Check out the page for cookies and youโ€™ll find Lukeโ€™s Lemon Lovelies. โ€œThat is one of my favorite things to make,โ€ shared Luke and we at the RCT understand completely. What could be better than having a cookie named after you?

Connor also took time out of his lunch break to tell us about his work at the bakery. Connor is Rising Aboveโ€™s longest working baker and has been with Reuveni-Ullrich since the dining room days. Connor has enjoyed the process of improving his baking skills, and has had the opportunity to teach his family what he has learned as well. Connor is well spoken, bubbly, proficient in ASL and has a condition that necessitates the use of medication and hearing aids. For Connor, itโ€™s important to proudly share his condition because he knows he is not the only one with a medical condition. โ€œI like to expose what I went through to help [others].โ€

Rising Above does everything they can to make sure their ingredients are top notch and locally sourced. The flour for their products comes from Upstate New York where it is grown and milled. Reuveni-Ullrich shared that one of the largest misconceptions Rising Above faces is that it is somehow a โ€œcuteโ€ side project just because they hire people with special needs. โ€œWeโ€™re not cute,โ€ said Reuveni-Ullrich, chuckling. โ€œItโ€™s a serious bakeryโ€ฆPeople will come to us because they want to support us but they will come back because weโ€™re really good.โ€ Rising Above Bakery really is all that and a loaf of bread.ย 

You must be logged in to post a comment Login