Special Eats Special Team
Tamara Varga, Owner
William Harman, Owner/Chef
Jeffrey Varga, Owner
WE PROUDLY PRESENT OUR
SPECIAL EATS SPECIAL TEAM:
Daniel
Daniel works on our marketing and custodial teams. He helps keep our Instagram up to date with our newest pictures. He also helps keep our truck looking perfect.
John
John has autism, but that doesn’t stop him from being a top-notch food prepper on the food truck, preparing bread for grilling and cutting sandwiches.
Kari
Kari has autism, and is gifted with numbers. She is in charge of our dry goods and food inventory, helping to keep our truck stocked so you can enjoy some of the best grilled-cheese around.
Vincent
He has autism, but that doesn’t stop him from being your amazing cashier. Vincent is in our training program for 16-year-olds, and this is his first job. He says he loves having a job. Come out and get to know Vincent as he works the register at our many, delightful events.
Ben (the artist)
Ben is one of our artists, a true gem. Ben designs, draws and creates unique and beautiful artwork. We are proud that Ben has chosen Special Eats as a creative outlet his passion. Look for Ben’s artwork on our “to-go” bags at our awesome cheese events. Get yours while you can.
Sarah
She is in charge of handing out the munchies and drinks with your grilled cheese. She also sells our merchandise. She has fetal alcohol syndrome, but that doesn’t stop her from living her best life. Come and get some food and merchandise from Sarah and one of our events.
Cecil
He is our food truck greeter. Cecil has autism, but that doesn’t stop him from talking to everyone he meets. Cecil is a person you will surely come back to see. He will probably talk you into buying a shirt too.
Jesse
He has Down syndrome excels at giving high fives while helping make our merchandise. Jesse loves to make specialty baskets that we sell in front of our food truck or at our office.
Christian
He has autism, so that makes him very detailed at cleaning our truck and landscaping at our office. He prides himself on the detail he puts into making our truck and landscaping beautiful.
Priya
She is part of our janitorial crew at our office and commissary. She has Down syndrome, but there is nothing down about her. She loves to sing while cleaning and loves to give hugs.
Jamie
He has Down syndrome and loves to help make our Down syndrome and autism merchandise collection. Jamie likes to help make bracelets and keychains for our merchandise line.
Steven
He is in charge of helping prep the food for our food truck. He has autism and says this is his favorite job. He loves knowing he is helping bring delicious food to the community.
Sharon
Sharon is part of our jewelry-making crew for our merchandise. She also likes to help with cashiering while selling our merchandise. She says she loves her job, and it doesn’t feel like a job. It feels like a family.
Jaymi
She has selective mutism, but that didn’t stop her from finding a job that is perfect for her. Jaymi helps make our merchandise. She loves to help make our t-shirts and jewelry. She also helps with our shopping for the food truck and merchandise.
Robert
He has Down syndrome but loves working. Robert helps in our merchandising department. He puts together baskets and jewelry.
Alex
He has autism and is in our first job training program. Alex helps run the orders and assists in the setup and takedown of the food truck.
Jesus
He has autism, and that makes him very detailed. Jesus is on our food truck team. He helps prep the food and is one of our sous chef’s for lunch events.
Brenda
Brenda is our resident horse lover. She has a horse she calls Monti who is more of a friend to her than anything else. It would be difficult to describe the wonderful gifts with which Brenda has been blessed. We at Special Eats have yet to determine if there is any limit to those gifts. Brenda works with the food truck, enjoys setting up inventory in the store, and has proven to be quite a computer wiz while working with Special Eats websites and social media.
Cheryl
Cheryl is the loving mother type to us all. She is a part of our merchandising and art team. Perpetually happy, and a bit feisty, she does it just like mama used to. Special Eats is proud to work with her.
Ben
Ben is our all-around guy. He does it all. Ben helps stack the cheese, make bracelets, and helps with our to-go bags. He always has a great attitude and loves working in the food industry.
Karen
Karen is another multi-talented hand here at Special Eats. You name it, she’ll get it done and there is nothing that she won’t do with the maximum amount of enthusiasm and love. Karen especially enjoys training other folks in procedures, turning out true pros and helping us all recognize our true potential. She is a valuable asset to Special Eats.
Cassandra
Cassandra is a wonderful mother of 2 who has worked hard all of her life, continues to do so, and has never been afraid to do so. Cassandra is an all-around hand who can do it all. She enjoys working on the food truck and has always specialized in the creation of beautiful, one-of-a-kind jewelry. Special Eats is looking forward to the ideas and creations she’ll bring to our merchandising department.
Christina
You would be hard-pressed to find a more wonderful smile than that of this wonderful, young woman. She has an approach to and zeal for life that is huge, HUGE. Christina works with us in our merchandising and artistic endeavors, bringing in huge amounts of imagination, and talent. She enjoys our almost daily yoga workouts and especially the beadwork we do here. It is so fun to have her with us a Special Eats.
Sharon
Sharon is that special and rare soul with a quick wit and a quicker smile. Sharon is a shopper, that is, a hard-core shopper. There’s none of that “stopping off for a few minutes” kind of stuff in her life. It comes in handy here at Special Eats as we are in constant need of many different kinds of supplies, crafts, and other support.
Sonia
What can you say about Sonia that isn’t just simply awesome? Sonia keeps going and going until it gets done, and you can bet it will always get done. Along the way she adds her own bit of special talent, turning out wonderful work for our merchandising and artistic work here at Special Eats.
Alex
Alex joined Special Eats in support of the Special Eats food truck. Alex is our resident guru, possessing an endless supply of information on a variety of different subjects and is always willing to share what he knows. Alex enjoys a challenging work environment and we at Special Eats work hard to ensure that Alex feels he has found a home here.
Our Job Coaches and Support Staff:
Sonia
She is the creative director for Special Eats. Together with her son, who has Down syndrome, Sonia draws upon an infinite pool of imagination and talent, creating all types of one-of- kind, fabulous merchandise, unique gift baskets, and custom jewelry. If you have an idea, Sonia can bring it to life. She is truly talented, and we are fortunate she has chosen Special Eats to showcase those incredible talents.
Natalie
Natalie is the person who, when life hands her lemons, will serve up the lemonade, a thick, juicy steak with all the trimmings, and the most exquisite Pinot Noir. An upbeat and positive young woman, Natalie strives to help folks find the best version of themselves. We at Special Eats have found that she’s very good at that. With her infinite pool of patience and love, Natalie brings a special talent to Special Eats and we are thrilled to have her with us.
Zidane
Zidane, you can call me “Z”, is an awesome young man that comes from a fine family rich in tradition. Z credits his father for giving him the tools he needs to be the highly successful, truly motivated powerhouse he has become.
Abraham
An avid soccer fan, Abraham brings a unique brand of leadership to Special Eats, developed internationally through years of experience on the pitch as player, team captain, and coach. An easy-going, open-minded friend to all, Abraham has also worked as a project manager for the Community Home Repair Project of Arizona (CHRPA), a wonderful non-profit agency dedicated to assisting low-income homeowners. His perspective and ingenuity are invaluable to Special Eats.
Kristina
Kristina is the disciplined, strong, silent type. Kristina is the one job coach most likely to be heard saying, “No, 2 slices of pizza covered in ice cream and chocolate cake is not a food group.” Together with her husband and 2 children, she has opened her home up for the care of a wonderful individual with special needs. A warm, wonderful person herself, her vast knowledge and discipline are highly appreciated by the Special Eats team.
Melita
If there was a special team dedicated exclusively to support of the Special Eats Special Team it would be Melita. Having over 7 years of experience helping folks with special needs, Melita is a multi-talented, one-woman support system who knows and loves each and every one of us here at Special Eats as one of her own. She brings a unique perspective to our mission here and we are proud to call her one of OUR own.
Peter
Peter is a job coach for our lunch time food truck crew. He is also the perfect facilities maintenance guru. You can bet that the job will always be straight, true, properly plumbed and expertly executed. Peter with his eternal smile brings out the best in all of us, along with a bit of mischievousness.
Jordan
Jordan brings to Special Eats one of the best customer service personalities in the business. His skills are simply… AWESOME! Jordan came to Special Eats seeking a fantastic work environment, a work environment with purpose. Jordan enjoys the opportunity offered by Special Eats to be in such an environment while helping create a space where people can be themselves. Special Eats welcomes Jordan with his seemingly endless patience along with his ability to get the job done, and get it done right.
Laurie
Laurie, who works with our custodial team as a facilities manager, has been in the disability field for 15 years. Extremely creative, detail orientated, and eternally happy, Laurie and has never met a room that she could not clean, fix, decorate, brighten up, or otherwise embellish with white glove precision. She brings out the best in all of us and our wonderful facilities. We are proud to have her aboard.
Elaine
Elaine is more than our assistant director and the best bookkeeper this side of Heaven. Elaine keeps everything running smoothly in matters of regulatory compliance, payroll, bookkeeping and Human Resources. Give Elaine 2 columns of numbers or a tough compliance issue and she’s ready to rock-and-roll. She is the glue that quietly holds it all together. Elaine has a nephew with autism and she is indispensable to Special Eats.
Dale
Dale is the grumpy, old man of the bunch. He can be found hunched over the computer in an office somewhere grumbling and updating websites and various media. With nearly 6 years in the field, Dale enjoys the constantly moving environment and the wonderful folks that he has been blessed to work with.
Aliana
Aliana is our an administrative specialist. If you’ve ever wondered that a person very quiet and shy could possess a contagious joy, happiness, or zest for life that radiates to all who know her, wonder no more. Aliana is the one. The Special Eats Special Team loved her immediately. Aliana, with a huge wealth of knowledge behind her, is tremendously qualified in her role at Special Eats, ensuring regulatory compliance and adherence to legal protocol. Special Eats is blessed to have her aboard.