By Dan Linehan
The Free Press
MANKATO —
If MRCI wanted to make a profit from its new contract with Menards to bag an estimated 3.6 million containers of candy a year, it wouldn’t have the bags’ labels applied by hand.
But the Mankato-based nonprofit doesn’t want to make a profit; it wants to give its clients work.
So it bought a new machine to bag the candy but left the labeling to its clients, people with disabilities.
The Menards contract is the first time MRCI has created work of its own, rather than acting as a subcontractor for local businesses, CEO Brian Benshoof said. Subcontracting work has been more difficult to find in recent years thanks to automation and international outsourcing, he said.
So, three years ago, the nonprofit started thinking about ways to create its own work, to “control its own destiny,” Benshoof said.
The candy contract is the first success.
MRCI created a wholly owned subsidiary called Quality Products, with a candy offshoot called Quality Sweets. The candy itself will be bought in bulk and bagged with the machine, leaving only “hand work” that nearly all MRCI clients can do.
MRCI is striking a balance between automation — they can’t use labor for everything, as the operation can’t lose money — while offering work for clients. MRCI tries to guarantee in-house work for about 600 people for six hours a day. If there isn’t enough work, clients aren’t as happy.
“They like to work. They want to earn money,” Benshoof said.
The bags of candy will be shipped to other MRCI locations to be labeled, as well.
Benshoof said their success in creating their own work is unique among other nonprofits that help people with disabilities. They’re looking for other opportunities to become more self-reliant.
MRCI works with about 1,500 people in the Greater Mankato area, mostly at off-site locations for other employers.
The candy-bagging effort starts in about two weeks and could involve up to 6 million bags annually, depending on sales.
