Two Wilton Moms Cook Up ‘Special Kneads,’ a Food Business for Special Needs Kids on the Verge of Adulthood

Finding a career path after graduating can be daunting for everyone these days. But for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families, charting the course after aging out of the school years presents an entire new dilemma.

Wilton resident Jennifer Iannuzzi came to realize this problem four years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools and programs for special needs students shut down. Her daughter, Sydney Iannuzzi (19), has Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS), and they found the early days of the pandemic and lockdown to be a struggle.

“We didn’t have anything to do, I had nothing to fill the days,” Iannuzzi explained. Despite this, she found a great way to solve her problem. She came up with a plan for her and Sydney to create a free delivery service for homebound individuals or those in need in Wilton during the pandemic. They found people who wanted their service, created a logo, and thus “Special Deliveries” was born.

Iannuzzi looked further into the future and realized that once her daughter had finished Community Steps, the Wilton Public Schools’ program for individuals with disabilities aged 18-22, she would have to find something for Syd to focus on down the road.

“Programs [for special needs young adults] are few and far between, and even when you find one it’s not a guarantee that they are looking for more people to join,” she said.  It was her hope that Special Deliveries could be a possible solution to her problem. 

In the years following the pandemic, Iannuzzi connected with Jennifer Angerame, another Wilton mother of a child with special needs, to build on her pandemic-era business and transform it into something inclusive for more people.

“I was talking with Jen and loved her idea with Special Deliveries. I wanted to think of a way to build on it and I was thinking what’s something that we need. What’s something that everybody says we don’t have? Wilton doesn’t have a bakery … we can’t get good baked breads,” Angerame said. Her son Patch Angerame (16), who has cerebral palsy and is intellectually disabled, agreed with her. The idea was there, but what would it be named? 

“So I thought, ah, ‘Special Kneads’ but we’ll spell it like kneading the dough,” Angerame said. She and Iannuzzi were excited with their new idea — Special Kneads would provide baked goods and Special Deliveries would take these goods and bring them to people across town to fulfill orders. 

As the duo explained on the Special Kneads Facebook page, “There is nothing more powerful than a mother’s love for her children. And nothing will stop a mom from making sure her child has a sense of purpose, accomplishment and value. This determination led to two moms joining forces to build something for their kids, and hopefully many others, to ensure that they will always have a place to shine.”

As Angerame and Ianuzzi quickly realized however, starting a bakery and legitimate business centered around food is not as easy as it seems. Selling food requires permits, rules and regulations that must be followed, and loads of paperwork and technicalities for a new business such as theirs to be legal. Despite these hurdles, they wanted to get started.

“We thought, let’s just start somewhere. Let’s start with a mother’s day bake sale concept,” Angerame recounted. “Jen [Iannuzzi] has a delicious granola recipe … and we also did cookies. Patch helped me, and we sold around 50 containers of granola and cookies. Then Jen and Syd did the bulk of the deliveries to mailboxes to complete the order.”

The idea was sweet and it tapped an appetite with local customers who wanted to support the effort.

Realizing their idea had potential, the two mothers sent an email to the Wilton School District’s special education educators explaining their business idea and future goal: to one day have a brick and mortar bakery that hires young adults and kids with disabilities. The district answered back almost immediately asking how they could help.

Iannuzzi and Angerame came up with a plan to bring members of the Community Steps program to work with Special Kneads and Special Deliveries, offering an option for those with disabilities once they’re on their own in the world.  

Even with the support from the district, Iannuzzi and Angerame explained that running a business centered around those with disabilities comes with its fair share of difficulties.

“Figuring out what everyone’s abilities are, I think, is the biggest challenge. When you’re trying to do something with the special needs community you want to include everyone. Finding a role for everyone isn’t easy when kids all have mixed abilities,” Iannuzzi explained. 

Last Wednesday, May 29, the two moms got together with a group of Wilton High School students with disabilities and baked in the school kitchen. They found ways for each kid to participate and contribute in ways that matched their abilities.

Iannuzzi was encouraged by this, and realized that the bakery and delivery service model was viable for her long term goals.

“My hope for this is that we can cater to every level and find something for everyone to participate in, and I’m not sure that some of these other [special needs] programs can do that,’’ Iannuzzi said.

Iannuzzi and Angerame have Facebook pages dedicated to their businesses, and regularly share content and information for their followers and customers. They hope that in the years to come they can grow their business further, not to turn it into a profit center, but to offer a dedicated home and workplace for young adults with special needs.

“It’s a destination for them to come and be a part of something … the acceptance of this over the past two weeks is definitely a sign that everyone in this town wants this to succeed,” Iannuzzi said. “When you see that so many people wanted to get involved and be a part of it or support us, it was nice.” 

More information can be found on the Special Kneads facebook page. The team is currently taking orders online for the end of the school year, with items they suggest would make great teacher and bus driver gifts.