CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A nondescript building near the corner of West Diversey Parkway and North Kildare Avenue holds an amazing secret inside: It's the home to Fueled by AF.
Chicago-based Fueled by AF owner Angelica Ford told WBBM on a recent busy day that they are a “small company on a big mission to help support and employ individuals with disabilities while supplying the world with our gluten-free, vegan snacks.”
Among the delicious offerings from Fueled by AF: a variety of protein bites, pistachio butter, pistachio pesto, maple pecan crunch butter, and almond butter. Although all of the items are sold online, they can also be found in other places, including the Logan Square Farmers Market in the warmer months — which is where WBBM first met Ford and some of her crew.
Ford told WBBM she started Fueled by AF from her other business: Ability Fitness.
“I personally train and build in-home gyms for individuals with disabilities, and I recognized the lack of opportunities for them to not only have a job but to have an impact on the business,” she said. “We're running our business pretty much solely with [those with disabilities], so I thought, ‘Why can't they run my production and help me with sales and keep our marketing going?’
“We bring everyone in, and we evaluate, and we allow them to tell us what they like the most, where they feel the best. By doing that, it allows our company to be 28% more efficient than other companies our size.”
Fueled by AF has been in business about two years, and Ford said they employ about two dozen people.
“We're giving an opportunity to those who are grateful for their opportunity,” Ford said. “I think a lot of people in this world tend to forget it's a really big deal to come home and be able to talk about your day, the coworkers and the people you met throughout the day at work. Sadly, for a lot of individuals with disabilities, there's no conversation like that. There's really no outlet like that. So by creating Fueled, we're kind of solving that problem for them.”
As Ford took WBBM around the kitchen, staff took gluten free pretzels — dipped in dark chocolate — coated them with coconut caramel and folded them into cashew butter. It's just one of the tasks Ford and her team perform all day long to produce delicious, healthy food.
So much about Fueled By AF is different, including the kitchen, which has a lower table and adaptive equipment to accommodate people in wheelchairs, as well as a skylight and light dimmer for those with light sensitivity to combat the possibility of seizures and make everyone comfortable.
Brian Gaeta has worked at Fueled by AF for several months and was busy the day we stopped by. He joked that it's “a little bit challenging to resist scooping some of this for myself.”
Angela Missimi was working side by side with Brian and Angelica and told WBBM: “Working here with Angelica is really fun. I love it here.”
Said Ford: “If we can create a snack that individuals with disabilities not only make but love to eat, we're helping them all around in their daily life function.”
Fueled by AF, Made in Chicago.
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