Made on Long Island: Smile Farms Inc.
Smile Farms has 13 campuses and more than 375 farmers. The Heat with Heart hot sauce is grown by Smile Farmers with different abilities.
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Smile Farms Inc. creates hot sauce and dreams! Smile Farms at Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) in Oakdale, provides vocational training for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Smile Farms has 13 campuses and more than 375 farmers. The Heat with Heart hot sauce is grown by Smile Farmers with different abilities. Bobby Bohard of Middle Island is a Smile Farmer. He loves coming to work and harvest the peppers. "I am proud of myself - if it weren't for the people, I wouldn't have a job today," said Bobby. "I've been in other jobs where they didn't appreciate me. I have been here for a long time. It's rewarding."
"We're not short on dreams of what we can do. We think having a job, having a purpose, and being part of a community is critically important to our development," said Jim McMann, founder of Smile Farms Inc.
Inspired by his brother Kevin, Jim McCann founded the non-profit nearly ten years ago. "The best thing in the world is to have a job. A job is a lot more than a paycheck - it's social, why we get up in the morning, it's what we are, it's what we do," said McCann. 100% of the proceeds fund jobs and training for individuals with disabilities.
Smile Farms offers a hot and mild hot sauce. To learn more about the product and the mission click here.
