Miami snack company prepares special needs students for employment

MIAMI – Inside the Rishi Snacks commercial kitchen in Miami, workers prepare trail mix while preparing themselves for life. Vijay and Manisha Patel launched the business a year ago and named it their 21-year-old son Rishi, who is autistic.

“A big reason we started was for Rishi to have a purpose in life, to have something he’s contributing to,” recalled Vijay Patel.

Rishi and his schoolmates clock in several days a week to learn skills.

“There’s different levels,” explained Manisha Patel. “Some of the kids cannot bag but they’re very good at doing the curry leaves. They’re accomplishing a little more every time they work.”

Hiring for disabled workers grew during the pandemic, but according to the U.S. Labor Department, only about 37% of adults with a disability were employed in 2023 and 30% of those employed only work part-time.

Rishi Snacks and other small businesses across the country hope to change that.

“You want them to be doing something, contributing to society,” said Vijay Patel. “They’re able to do a lot, they just need a little help.”

Rishi Patel says he enjoys spending time in the kitchen and says, “I work with my friends.”

The Patels hope to hire the students once they graduate. The bagged goodies are based on a traditional Indian snack and come in five different flavors. They’re now on grocery store shelves in Florida, the Carolinas, and New York.