New York City-based Chopt Creative Salad Co. is partnering with Smile Farms in honor of Disability Employment Awareness Month. Creating the Smile Farms Bowl, a warm bowl featuring the Smile Farms Red Ranch, made with peppers grown on Smiles Farms’ own agricultural campuses, the company is giving 15% of sales from the bowl to Smile Farms to support its mission of providing meaningful employment for individuals with disabilities.
“We are proud to partner with Smile Farms during Disability Employment Awareness Month to highlight the importance of creating meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities,” Colin McCabe, co-founder of Chopt, said in a company press release. “The Smile Farms Bowl is a celebration of community, collaboration, and sustainability — values that both Chopt and Smile Farms share. We’re excited to support Smile Farms’ incredible mission and offer our customers a delicious new bowl that makes a meaningful impact.”
The Smile Farms Bowl includes a blend of warm grains, roasted chicken, cabbage and cilantro blend, pepper jack cheese, fresh radish, carrots, tortilla chips and the signature Smile Farms Red Ranch dressing. The Smile Farms Bowl will be available at the following Chopt locations in New York City: Woodbury, Westbury, New Hyde Park and Willis Avenue.
“Our partnership with Chopt developed organically when a Smile Farms employee struck up a conversation with a Chopt associate while waiting for her salad. We are thrilled that their interaction led to our Heat with Heart hot sauce being featured on a Chopt menu item,” Rebecca Tillman, associate director of Smile Farms, said in the press release. “This collaboration showcases the incredible abilities of individuals with disabilities, and we couldn’t ask for a better partner than Chopt. Their commitment to supporting local produce, fostering community relationships, and celebrating unique artisans aligns perfectly with our mission and is truly evident with this partnership.”
Smile Farms creates employment, vocational and educational opportunities in agriculture and hospitality for people with disabilities. Campuses operate as revenue-generating businesses, where funds earned go directly back to supporting the mission and participants.
Chopt has expanded to a family of over 80 restaurants in New York, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina, with more to come soon.
