Our Story

South Fork Bakery was founded by Shirley Ruch in the spring of 2016 out of the need to build meaningful employment opportunities for adults with disabilities on the South Fork. Ruch, a speech and language pathologist practicing for over 30 years with a private practice in Sag Harbor, specialized in working with children with autism. Many of her former students after graduating college or aging out of high school were facing very similar issues — finding employment.

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South Fork Bakery started small with just six employees and a professional baker baking various goods out of the kitchen at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton, NY. Just a few years later, proving the need for such opportunities, South Fork Bakery now employs approximately 20 workers with autism and other disabilities as well as a professional baker and a New York State Certified Special Education teacher. It operates out of Scoville Hall in Amagansett, NY. and became a nonprofit in 2018. Watch the short video below to learn more about the South Fork Bakery!