New Santa Barbara Deli & Catering Business Helping Empower Neurodivergent Staff

From breakfast platters to fudgy brownies, Santa Barbara deli and catering company Mo’s To-Go caters to not only the community, but their workers as well. The full-inclusive scratch kitchen is geared toward supporting people with disabilities, through providing its neurodivergent staff with the culinary and customer service skills needed to contribute to the local workforce.

Mo’s To-Go is run through Momentum WORK, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to empowering people with disabilities by providing professional and personal support. Momentum offers a variety of resources, services, and programs, with Mo’s To-Go being one of them.

All proceeds from Mo’s To-Go go toward supporting people with disabilities, specifically supporting employment for individuals with disabilities. Participants are put through Momentum WORK, Inc.’s Culinary Arts Program (CAP), which is made possible by a 2023-2024 California Department of Developmental Services grant dedicated to increasing integrated employment for California residents with disabilities.

The small business began its development in July 2023, and officially began catering and deliveries in June 2024. Menu items are similar to those found on a New York Jewish deli-style menu, offering multiple sandwiches, salads, soups, and desserts. A variety of platters are available to order, such as lox, sandwich, charcuterie, and even brownies.

Even more impressive is that 90-95 percent of all ingredients and menu items are made in-house — this includes the aiolis for the sandwiches, curing their own salmon, and breadcrumbs for a fried chicken sandwich. This in-depth approach provides hands-on experience working in a kitchen environment, an opportunity that many disabled people are often unable to partake in.

The staff is run by Kitchen Coordinator Emily Edah, who has a culinary background in restaurants and bakeries. Edah started at Momentum, helping individuals to find jobs in the community, before becoming coordinator of Mo’s To-Go.

“We started Mo’s To-Go for individuals to basically come into the kitchen,” Edah said. “Now, we’re a full-on working catering company.”

At Mo’s To-Go, team members are taught kitchen skills in order to work and thrive in the restaurant industry. They’re trained in every aspect of the ins-and-outs of food service — whether that be prepping dishes and practicing cooking skills to delivering food and serving food at events. So far, the team has catered for meetings, art exhibits, and office parties, and is currently prepping a charcuterie grazing table for an upcoming event in Thousand Oaks.

“You can tell that there’s a lot of love that goes into the food,” Edah said.

The team is relatively small — the program will only take eight participants at a time. Yet the program has quickly grown in popularity. Since its inception, there has been a waiting list of people who hope to work in the kitchen, and the program aims to have a turnover of about six months to a year, drawing from the waitlist to fill spots after each turnover period.

“A lot of people know about Momentum. We have people who are trying to figure out what they want to do for work, so we have some people who are trying [Mo’s To-Go] out to see if it is something they want to do,” Edah said.

Kitchen staff member Humberto started at Momentum by taking the knife skills classes offered by the program. When Momentum began developing Mo’s To-Go, he joined the team as one of the earliest participants, starting in July of 2023.

“He’s an OG,” Edah joked.

Through Mo’s To-Go, Humberto has gained experience in the kitchen industry. His favorite things to do in the kitchen are grilling, mixing the food, and organizing the kitchen. And in Humberto’s words, his favorite thing to make in the kitchen is “perfect food.”

Humberto was joined by Angel as one of the first participants of the program. Angel went through six months of culinary class to get his ServSafe certification in 2023, then began working at Mo’s To-Go. Through cutting and working in a busy environment, Angel has learned to work with a team.

When asked what his favorite thing to make in the kitchen is, Angel’s answer was almost immediate: “Cinnamon rolls.”

Scott was another early member of Mo’s To-Go. Scott started with Momentum as part of their day program. Once the catering company started up, Scott was eager to join the team.

In the kitchen, Scott can be found washing the dishes and lending a helpful hand to his fellow staff members. His favorite thing to make on the Mo’s To-Go menu are the couscous salad and potato salad. Scott does not have a favorite, adding “It’s hard to choose. They’re both really good.”

Scott befriended fellow Mo’s team member Eric through working in the kitchen. Over time, the pair’s friendship has blossomed, with the two hanging out outside of work. Scott and Eric like to spend their time going to the movies or local coffee shops.

Even beyond restaurant and food service skills, Mo’s To-Go provides participants with friendship and a sense of community. The kitchen is lively, with all team members cracking jokes and helping each other out as they go about their work, with ample opportunities for team bonding and professional development.

“I feel a profound sense of belonging here that I have yet to feel at any other job,” Eric said.

“We’re together as a team,” Humberto said. “It’s pretty good.”

Mo’s To-Go delivers on Thursdays and Fridays. For more information on the menu and how to place an order, visit mostogo.org or call (747) 292-1112.