This story first appeared in Pittsburgh Magazine.
It’s a dog day summer afternoon and Nathan Amorino, Joe Pawlowski and Amalia Insogna are busy making bark.
After shattering sheets of solid chocolate, they weigh the bite-sized pieces, bag and heat-seal the treats, then gleefully slap a Spectrum Fudge label on each package. It’s a simple job, but one that has an extraordinary impact on people with autism and other special needs.
Nearly three years ago, Roger and Erin Haney opened the for-profit candy company with a mission: to create a workplace culture that is safe and inclusive.
The couple’s son, Jake, was diagnosed with autism at a young age. When he reached his teen years, they began fretting over unemployment rates (85% of adults with autism are jobless) and wondered what, if any, opportunities were available to folks on the spectrum.
Despite extensive research, they couldn’t find many; so the Haneys cashed in a portion of their retirement fund to create more.
Spectrum Fudge is located in a 3,000-square-foot building in Penn Hills. The sweet spot was previously occupied by a candy-maker so it was move-in ready for the new tenants.
There’s a portrait of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka on the wall overseeing the entire operation, too.
The facility produces a variety of fudge, of course, along with chocolate-covered pretzels, popcorn, pecan turtles, glass candy and a whole line of flavored nuts.
Former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter recently ordered black-and-gold bon-bons for an event benefiting the Jasmine Nyree Campus in Sheraden. Porter and his wife, Christy, are the parents of an autistic daughter and opened the special needs center in her honor several years ago, transforming a sprawling former church property into a neighborhood hub.
A community resource
Spectrum Fudge pops up at various community events to sell their stuff. Items also are available at stores and eateries throughout the region, including Hudson News at Pittsburgh International Airport. The sugary snacks have been shipped to 40 states. Gazing at a map dotted with push pins, Roger says he hopes to hit all 50 by the end of 2024.
The Haneys’ daughter, Caitlin, a neurotypical teen who attends Penn-Trafford High School, is an advocate for her younger brother and the family business. Through her efforts, their candy is sold at district concession stands during intramural sporting events.
Local businesses and nonprofits, including Autism Speaks and the Special Olympics, recruit Spectrum Fudge to help them raise funds. The company, which sells approximately 200,000 pieces of candy a year, donates 40% of all sales back to the partner organizations.
Before becoming a confectioner, Roger Haney worked as a health care administrator. The irony of the career change is not lost on him.
He pats his belly and chuckles.
“You ever heard of the Freshman 15?” he asks, referring to the weight students typically gain in their first year of college. “Well, this is the Fudge 30.”
Haney admits he’s never been one to bypass dessert, but the real reason the Haneys got into candy-making isn’t his sweet tooth; the repetitive nature of the job is a good fit for many people with autism.
Fourteen-year-old Jake isn’t sure if he wants to be a “chocolate chef” like his dad or an astronaut.
Spectrum Fudge works with the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and eight local school districts to help people with developmental disabilities earn a paycheck. Five employees cover morning and evening shifts that run three hours a day, five days a week. In addition to packaging the goodies, they help keep the facility clean. An army of Oompa Loompas would be hard-pressed to find a crumb on the floor.
Supervisor Julie Leeper is the team’s biggest cheerleader. Her employer, Three Birch Trees, is a South Side-based provider of social support services for transition-aged youths and young adults.
“My favorite thing is teaching systematic skills,” she says.
By breaking down tasks into smaller steps, workers are able to achieve independence and reach the next rung on the career ladder.
Employee John Barner considers himself the resident jack-of-all-trades. A graduate of Bidwell Training Center in Manchester, he landed at Spectrum Fudge after stints at Eat’n Park and Kennywood.
Ian Batzel enjoys hanging out with his co-workers. Taste-testing batches of fudge is another job perk.
Last October, when holiday orders started to pour in, Scott Hershberger joined the company to helm the production side of things.
A contractor by trade, Hershberger’s been making chocolate at home for decades. The lifelong hobby is now a labor of love with sweets that serve a higher purpose.
“Once I was here, I started seeing the dynamic Roger has with the kids. It resonated with me,” he says. “I take pride in working with the kids and letting them be themselves. I don’t see them differently or treat them differently. All they need is a chance.”
More companies focus on workers with special needs
Over the last few years, several eateries have opened that, like Spectrum Fudge, promote inclusion.
Local upstarts such as Cookie Cookie Ice Cream in Kennedy and Squirrel Hill’s Bunny Bakes & Specialty Coffee are staffed by people with special needs. In April, North Carolina-based brand Bitty & Beau’s Coffee opened a location in the Strip District.
Ben and Amy Wright, the founders of Bitty & Beau’s, have two children with Down syndrome and one with autism. By advocating for their kids, they have built a caffeinated empire. Since 2016, their chain has grown to include 19 shops across 11 states. They’ve hired more than 450 employees with disabilities for shops nationwide.
Patience is the key to success.
Back at Spectrum Fudge, Hershberger, using the teaching and confectionary skills he learned from his late mother, nurtures every employee and tries to turn their ideas into an edible reality. The team is currently brainstorming ways to make yellow, banana-flavored fudge dedicated to the Minions from “Despicable Me.” Their latest creation is a fudge inspired by the characters from Pixar’s “Inside Out.” The slabs are flecked with colorful sprinkles representing a range of emotions.
It was hard to contain my emotions during the interview. The subject matter hit close to home, and not just because I’m the bottomless pit food editor for Pittsburgh Magazine.
My 14-year-old daughter Sarah is autistic. She accompanied me to the factory in July — a dream come true for a kid born with a sweet tooth.
Under Hershberger’s watchful eye, Sarah expertly dipped Oreos in chocolate, decorated them, bagged them, sealed them, opened them and ate them.
She had a smile on her chocolate-stained face the whole time.
“In today’s society, you hear a lot of talk about the workforce shortage,” he says. “If companies aren’t willing to look at hiring people with special needs, they’re missing out. They may learn differently, but they do the job and there’s nothing they can’t accomplish.”
This story is one in a series on Western Pennsylvania doers from a partnership of about 30 regional newsrooms as part of an inaugural Newsapalooza event, Sept. 27-28. The collaborative series demonstrates the power of a story when networked through an entire community. Read more on the event and buy tickets at newsapalooza.org.
Others in the series:
Meet the man behind the ‘Yinzburgh!’ comics (from the Northside Chronicle)
Rondón, Velázquez foster community, diversity and economic development
for Latinos in Pittsburgh (from Pittsburgh Latino Magazine)
Community leader’s cancer fight gave him strength (from Latrobe Bulletin)
Laura Magone’s Wedding Cookie Table community: A labor of love (from the Mon Valley Independent)
New Castle native sows seeds of knowledge, positivity (from the New Castle News)
Faces of the Valley: Volunteering and firefighting is family affair for Lower Burrell woman (from TribLive.com)
She came back a different person to help people and live well (from Soul Pitt Quarterly)
A Joe of all trades helps his North Side neighbors (from YaJagoff!)
Pittsburgh environmental activist’s ‘sustainability salons’ foster community (from The Allegheny Front)
‘Give Back King’: Go-getter Jamal Woodson a leader on and off the court (from Pittsburgh Union Progress)
Kristy Graver
Kristy is food editor of Pittsburgh Magazine. Email her at kgraver@PittsburghMagazine.com.