Joe Tarr
Wilfred "Wil" Ayotte working in Porchlight Products kitchen, stirring apple butter.
Wil Ayotte admits that holding a full-time job is probably beyond his grasp. Formerly homeless, the veteran suffers from mental illness and is a recovering alcoholic.
But thanks to Porchlight, Ayotte has a place to live and a part-time job that he loves. Ayotte works for Porchlight Products, cooking up a variety of high-quality, locally sourced foods that are sold to restaurants, grocery stores and companies around the Madison area. The organization — which helps fight homelessness — makes a variety of pickled goods, bake mixes and jams.
Today, Ayotte is whipping up one of his favorites. “I’ve got apple butter in the oven right now,” he says. “I love the taste of that. It’s cinnamon-y, and we add maple syrup to it — man, oh, man it’s just great.”
Ayotte also attends culinary school at Madison College part-time, and he has a few ideas of his own for products he’d like Porchlight to start selling, including mayonnaise, vinaigrettes and gravy. “I’m not a genius at cooking, but it sure is fun to learn,” he says. “The goal is to make the company better, make it grow.”
The organization is in fact set to grow both its food production operation and its housing mission, with a $4 million project at Lien and Thierer roads near East Towne Mall. Once completed, it will include a new kitchen about three times the size of its current facility, at 306 N. Brooks St. More importantly, the kitchen will all be on one level, making it much more efficient to operate. The project will also include 28 new housing units.
The project was years in the making, says Steven Schooler, Porchlight’s executive director. Since Porchlight Products’ employees are all clients, the organization wanted to incorporate its kitchen into the facility, which took some extra planning.
“Trying to integrate the housing and food manufacturing on the same site has been difficult,” he says. But it was important. “We’re going to have 28 residents; if they’re going to become program participants, it’s very easy for them to get to work.”
Carolyn Fath
Porchlight Products are already in many local grocery stores. Schooler would like to see them in more restaurants and to increase sales. But it won’t likely ever be a money-maker for the organization, Schooler says.
“We’re not looking at this as a profit for Porchlight, per se. If we could cover all of our expenses, that would be great,” he says. “Our mission is to reduce homelessness, not necessarily produce high-quality, locally sourced food products.”
It is, however, vital to the group’s purpose. Most of Porchlight’s clients are disabled, suffering from mental illnesses, addictions and trauma.
“Many of them have suffered very significant mental illnesses, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, they’ve been homeless,” he says. “To come in and do something they can be very proud of — that’s a game changer.”
“It reverberates to how they view their housing, how they view whatever recovery they’re undertaking, their medication,” he adds. “It significantly increases the overall stability. There are very few folks who have been in this program that have lost their housing.”
Ayotte is one of the organization’s most successful employees. In Porchlight’s kitchen, he tapped into a passion that he expanded with his studies at Madison College. He also lives in one of Porchlight’s transitional programs and hopes to move out to the Lien Road site when it’s completed. In his kitchenette, he practices some of the dishes he learns at school.
“I don’t get fancy with it, but I try to apply what I learn at school,” he says. “I can make some mean chicken.”
Porchlight Products currently employs about six people. Some 30 to 40 people work in all of the organization’s various kitchen employment programs each year.
Porchlight expects to break ground on its new facility this spring. It has raised almost all of the $4 million needed for the project, with just about $330,000 more to go. The funding has come from a variety of grants, foundations and private donations.
One fundraiser will be held Feb. 25 at the Institutes for Discovery, where several local chefs will make food using Porchlight Products.
Ayotte is thrilled he will be able to attend the event. “I’m excited to see what they’re going to do,” he says. “That gives me more ideas.”
