Plated Purpose

The Arc Kitchen

Provides More than Meals

By Douglas Tallman

Photography by Turner Photography Studio

Tucked into a property near Nymeo Field and Mount Olivet Cemetery, the Arc of Frederick County kitchen is helping the charity bring the community together, where people with and without disabilities can work side by side.

The location, at 555 S. Market St., can host corporate parties, award ceremonies and other special occasions, in a program that started in 2015. Each event presents an opportunity for job training so people with disabilities can enter the Frederick workforce with enhanced skills, ready to be part of the local economy, says Aaron Stephens, special projects director at the Arc.

“Part of the purpose of this building is to bring the community together,” he says. “People with and without disabilities are doing things in the same space.”

The Arc also provides take-and-bake meals, gluten-free if a patron requests. The service, along with an Arc coffee shop, had to be discontinued during the COVID shutdown, but it became a new service where patrons can pick up meals on their way home from work. Although the coffee shop remains closed, customers can still partake in the Arc’s desserts and delicacies to go with dinner, too.

On the north side of the property, the Arc has several fruit trees and a vegetable garden, so the restaurant can serve in-season produce.

The space also has a stage and sound system that can handle a variety of events—the Key City Rotary Club meets here regularly. The Arc has hosted hundreds of weddings. Recently, Salsa Frederick provided free dance lessons to anyone in Frederick who wanted to learn or expand their dance moves, regardless of experience.

“We’re hopping. We’re pretty busy,” Stephens says.

The Arc has also collaborated with the Delaplaine Arts Center to connect communities through the creative arts. A recent event was an “Acoustic Brunch” where guests enjoyed great food and music performances by Shawn Dennison and Freddie Long, Stephens says.

About 600 people with disabilities undergo a 13-week program that lasts four days a week, four hours a day. Small groups work under the supervision of Scott Guarino, culinary program manager. Once completed, the graduates can then find employment at Giant Food and Wegmans or nearly anywhere else with a restaurant, bakery, or coffee shop.

Long-time Frederick residents remember the Arc site as the former Jeanne Bussard Center, which opened in 1965 and operated until it closed it 2012, Stephens says. The Arc and other local providers immediately stepped in to support people with disabilities who lost their services.

After purchasing the building in the fall of 2013, The Arc renovated the space and began services in the summer of 2015, Stephens says.

The Arc prepares the people it serves for a variety of jobs in cooking and hospitality. It also does its own laundry to help train people there, as well. 

In placing clients in the workforce, the Arc’s staff seeks local businesses that can accommodate individuals with disabilities, including support from fellow coworkers.

“We love to build natural supports,” says Shauna Mulcahy, the organization’s executive director.

“I think overall connecting general community to people with disabilities creates this transition of Frederick becoming truly, fully inclusive by providing these types of opportunities for individuals we serve and members of community,” she adds. “It allows for the communication of this effort to really help people to feel included and break down any barriers there may be.”