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For the past 10 years, Superior
Coffee, a division of Sara Lee, has been producing
its “coffee condiment kit” by workers with
developmental disabilities at Avenues to
Independence. These are the packages of sugar,
creamer, sweeteners and stirring sticks used
throughout the hotel/motel industry for their
in-room coffee service.
 Robert
Okazaki, (middle left) Avenues CEO, congratulates
Gerry Anderson, (middle right) President, Superior
Coffee, for their ten years of employment support
for Avenues to Independence.
Ron Reeves, Avenues’ Marketing
Manager, explained that Avenues has worked in tandem
with Superior as their coffee business began to
grow. “In the beginning, we would produce 20,000
bags of product every six to eight weeks,” said
Reeves. “Today, Superior’s growth requires in
excess of five million
bags per year.”
View the Sara Lee interview on the benefits of using
Avenues Commercial Enterprises
(requires media player)
Reeves explains that Avenues started
by manually packaging coffee condiment kits for
Superior. As demand began to grow, Avenues was
hard-pressed to meet production and quality
requirements. To keep the customer happy, Avenues
acquired high-speed packaging equipment to meet
Superior’s packaging requirements.
“Operating the machine greatly
increased our output and the worker's take- home
pay. Before, some individuals could not do the job
successfully. Now they have gained some very
important skills that have improved their
productivity and lead to other jobs in the
workcenter and in the community,” says Reeves.
In today’s competitive market Reeves
believes that to help our workers in the future we
will have to run a profitable business. “We must
serve two customers, businesses, as well as
individuals with developmental disabilities. But
unlike most companies, our profits are not invested
paid out to shareholders. Our profits are reinvested
in the people we support,” said Reeves.
On your next night away from home,
look at your hotel room coffee service for the
Superior Coffee or Sara Lee name. On the back of
the accessory pack, they have graciously printed
"Packaged by adults with Developmental Disabilities
served by Avenues to Independence". If you don't
see this, ask them to serve Superior Coffee and Sara
Lee products!
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