| Type | Social enterprise |
|---|---|
| Industry | Baked goods |
| Founded | Yonkers, NY, U.S. (1982) |
| Founder(s) | Tetsugen Bernard Glassman |
| Headquarters | Yonkers, NY |
| Key people | Julius Walls Jr., CEO & President |
| Products | Ice cream mix-ins, brownies, cakes |
| Employees | 65 (2006) |
| Parent | Greyston Foundation |
| Website | GreystonBakery.com |
Greyston Bakery was founded in Riverdale, New York, by Bernie Glassman, a Zen Buddhist. Although it is a for-profit company, its profits go to its non-profit parent organization, the Greyston Foundation, where they are used on behalf of the local community.[1]
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The bakery was founded in 1982. Later that decade, Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's ice cream company agreed to purchase Greyston Bakery brownies for chocolate fudge brownie ice cream.[2][3] In 2004, Greyston Bakery moved to a larger facility designed by Maya Lin to accommodate growth.[3]
The company aims to hire the hard-to-employ and is known for its "open hiring" practices, where anyone can sign up regardless of background.[4][2] All profit from the company go to the Greyston Foundation, which uses it for low-income housing, day care open to the community, a medical center for those with AIDS, and other community endeavors.[2]
Greyston Bakery is the sole supplier of brownies for Ben & Jerry's[5], which is its main client.[6] The bakery has also recently started its own line of the small cakes, branded as Do-Goodie Brownies.