Lancaster County granola business gives deaf students hands-on job experience

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — A Lancaster County bakery has a unique requirement to work in its kitchen.

Greta Fairbanks started the company during the COVID-19 pandemic. When public events stopped, so did the need for her work as an American Sign Language interpreter. She started baking and selling granola instead.

“And it took off,” she said.

The company expanded into more than a handful of locations across two counties, with nine flavors of granola and three granola bars.

“I needed to start integrating my two worlds,” Fairbanks said.

She decided her workspace would be only for those who use ASL.

She teamed up with the Lancaster-Lebanon IU13 to offer students who are deaf some hands-on job experience.

Nachaliz Jorge-Lugo and Mulibinge Fikiri go to Warwick High School. Twice a month, they come to the bakery instead of class.

The students get a list of tasks they must complete during their shift. The IU13 also evaluates them based on their appearance, attendance, and how well they work together as a team. But the students aren’t just doing it for a grade.

“They get a paycheck. This is not a volunteer thing. They are getting paid to do their work,” Fairbanks said.

For the students, that may not even be the best part.

“It’s so much easier. I don’t have to have an interpreter. Everyone speaks sign language here, so we all get to communicate,” Jorge-Lugo said.

This is the second year Happiness is…Granola has teamed up with the IU13. So far, the business has employed four students who are deaf.