Greyston Bakery: Great Baked Goods with a Greater-Good Mission

The brownies we use in our ice cream come from New York’s Greyston Bakery, where producing great baked goods is part of their greater-good mission to provide jobs and training to low-income city residents.

Lisa Marie Bryant

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Position:  

Lead Operator, packing room

Time at Greyston:  

5 years

There aren’t that many women here. We’re outnumbered. When I first started here, it was just me and this other girl for the longest time, sticking it out with the men. We do a man’s job, you know? What they do, we can do even better.

Greyston offers advancement and I’m hoping to become a supervisor. I know the ins and outs of this place. I’ve been around, I’ve learned a lot and I know how to do a lot of things, you know? I’ve got an upper hand on a lot of stuff. I hope to move up in the ranks. I plan on sticking around for a little while.

I’ve met a lot of nice people here at this bakery. We have a good time together. We work, we laugh and play. It’s like a new family. Not like a blood family, but it’s totally different. It’s awesome.

Some people here, they stayed in trouble a lot, and they talk about how Greyston gave them a job. They have an outlook on a better future. They don’t have to go back to the way they were living. Some may say it saved their life.

PathMaking is a Greyston philosophy. It means to set some goals to try to do something different, like to move on and make things better for yourself. Go for a higher position, go to school, learn another trade, don’t stay stuck right where you’re at. You can always do more, you can always do better.