The Village Cookie Shoppe is a pretty extraordinary place. We are owned and operated by Mental Health America of Los Angeles (MHALA), which works to ensure that individuals with mental health needs achieve meaningful, healthy lives in their communities.
The Village Cookie Shoppe is one of MHALA’s social enterprises and part of the organization’s Employment Services Program. Our employees are MHALA members, on their journey to mental health recovery. As they prepare our award-winning cookies and brownies — made from scratch with only the best ingredients — they learn valuable job skills, develop work tolerance, and join their community’s workforce.
Skills employees learn at The Village Cookie Shoppe include:
- Customer service
- Self-advocacy
- Earning a salary and benefits
- How budgets work and the importance of saving money
- Baking, prepping, and clean up
- Packaging and shipping
- Marketing and product development
Employees also engage with the local communities by delivering orders, working at the local farmer’s market, and providing catering to local businesses.
Every box of cookies and brownies helps our employees move one step closer to self-sufficiency, and every purchase goes back to MHALA’s services and programs. You could say that The Village Cookie Shoppe is not your cookie-cutter kind of place!
The Village Cookie Shoppe in the News!
This bakery brings second chances, hope and life skills to its employees, Long Beach Signal Tribune, June 1, 2023
Village Cookie Shoppe chefs accept award, April 19, 2023
Village Cookie Shoppe Named LA Business Journal 2023 Social Enterprise of the Year, April 19, 2023