A sweet solution to a serious employment gap: DelectAble Treats and Sweets emphasizes Able

Editor’s Note: This story is part of Momentum: The people and companies shaping what’s next, a weekly series that explores new ventures, founder support, and the resources powering entrepreneurship and small businesses across seven counties in Southwest Michigan. This project is sponsored by Southwest Michigan First. All photos were taken by John Grap.

BATTLE CREEK, MI — Bagel sandwiches and donuts are a roundabout way for Felicia Jaramillo to ensure that her sons have an opportunity to work and earn a living in Battle Creek despite their developmental challenges.

On February 24, she hosted a Grand Opening for her new brick-and-mortar business – DelectAble Treats and Sweets, located inside the Battle Creek Innovation Hub. The name is an expression of her mission to employ individuals with disabilities like her sons, who may not otherwise have employment opportunities.

“I knew I wanted to start a business for Canaan someday,” Jaramillo says.

Canaan,16, is on the autism spectrum, and his older brother, Carter, 17, has severe ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). School, she says, has always been a struggle for them.

Carter’s ADHD makes it challenging for him to stay focused and on task. His mother says, “He’s smart. He just needs a lot of extra help.”

She refers to all young people living with these and other diagnoses that make it difficult to secure jobs when she says, “These guys want and need jobs. They just want to hang out and be part of the community. In almost every job they get, they get bullied because they can’t learn fast enough. It’s heartbreaking to me because they’re fun and they’re smart.”

In 2022, the employment-population ratio for PWD (Persons with Disabilities) at its highest point was only 34.8%, while the ratio for persons without a disability for the same age group was 74.4%, according to the Corporation for a Skillied Workforce. 

“The unemployment rate for persons with disabilities was more than twice that for those without a disability — 7.6% versus 3.5%,” according to information on the organization’s website. “This inequity could be the byproduct of pervasive biases and assumptions that still follow PWD, like, ‘Persons with disabilities who receive government assistance aren’t motivated to work’ and ‘Anyone with a disability who wants a job has one.'”

“These guys want and need jobs. They just want to hang out and be part of the community. In almost every job they get, they get bullied because they can’t learn fast enough. It’s heartbreaking to me because they’re fun and they’re smart.” — Felicia Jaramillo

The Centers for Disease Control says that in 2022, roughly 1 in 4 (28.7%) adults had a disability, which includes a broader range of functional limitations. 

If they’re not employed, Jaramillo says, “They pay their bills with disability payments and have less than $15 a month left over to go to a movie or buy a pop, and they can’t afford to do much of anything else.”

As a result, her core mission is to make sure those with disabilities get a fair shake. There is already a waiting list of individuals seeking employment with DelectAbles.

Addiction, recovery, fulfillment

Jaramillo’s journey to Battle Creek and the opening of a business that would change the direction of her life and her sons began in Van Wert, Ohio. It was in this town, 133 miles south of  Battle Creek, that her addiction prompted her to seek treatment to save herself and her children.

She received treatment through the former Great Lakes Rehabilitation Center in Manistee and worked for the organization until the fallout from the pandemic led to the closure of the addiction service centers they operated. Her last position with them was at a Call Center in their Battle Creek location.

“I lived in Van Wert my whole life and never saw myself able to leave,” Jaramillo says. “Because of the opportunity through Great Lakes Rehab, I was able to move on and start my life on my own. You have to leave the environment that got you into that addiction.”

Knowing that she will always be in recovery and wanting to move forward, she enrolled at Kellogg Community College through Michigan Reconnect. She graduated in 2023 with an Associate’s Degree in Business.

“I went to college with the intent to open a business where I could hire people with special needs. The last semester there, I had to pretend I had a business and market it. Because when I was younger, I was always baking, I leaned into that, and once I made my presentation at KCC, I said, ‘This is what I have to do.’”

Farmers’ Markets allowed her to test out recipes and see what it would be like to operate a business while working a part-time evening shift at a local factory. She focused on breads and jams because she didn’t need a commercial kitchen license to make and sell them. But, she says, she had to find her “thing.”

While exploring the realm of breads, she realized she wasn’t seeing a lot of bagel and donut purveyors, which led to an “aha” moment.

“I started making those, and people freaking loved them. But, it was very time-consuming doing this at home without the right equipment, and I quickly found out why more people weren’t doing it.”

She made the decision to focus solely on her business concept after losing her factory job. She had used up all of her sick time caring for her father, who was not in good health.

“I just really hit farmers’ markets hard because I knew without a good business, I wouldn’t be able to employ people with special needs, and I couldn’t employ anybody without customers. I gave free samples to get people to try what I was making. I made sure people got a taste and asked them to tell their friends and do Google reviews. I’m passionate about what I want to do.”

In 2024, she won a Golden Spoon award at the annual Food Prize event held at Kellogg Arena, which raised her visibility and facilitated a connection with Battle Creek Food Reimagined (BCFR). She worked with Dana Edwards at Sprout BC, a local incubation kitchen, to learn the steps she needed to get her business off the ground. Edwards connected her with the City of Battle Creek Small Business Development Office to receive free business coaching.

In March 2025, Jaramillo received a mobile food license, which enabled her to create bagel sandwiches for sale at farmer’s markets in Battle Creek, Comstock, and Marshall. She rented a space at Sprout, which gave her the opportunity to fulfill DoorDash orders on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Jaramillo says she took advantage of every resource she could think of — from attending BCFR’s networking events to participating in its Recipe for Success cohort. “I love getting to know the other local food entrepreneurs,” she says. “We bounce ideas off each other and learn and grow together. We want each other to succeed, because it’s about making our community better.”

Jaramillo credits Northern Initiatives, supported by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC, which helped her to write a business plan, learn financial literacy, and discover funding and lending opportunities.

When Sprout collaborated on the Innovation Hub, Jaramillo says they told her they were looking for someone to fill a space there that has a variety of food to offer, and “We think that might be you. I was nervous, but excited.”

During the DelectAble grand opening, customers were able to try gourmet bagels with best-seller cream cheese spreads — garlic and herb; honey butter; and sweet cream — along with the signature Fefe Special gourmet bagel sandwich with turkey, bacon, gouda, bacon onion jam, berry chevre goat cheese, pickles, and mayonnaise. 

Jaramillo does her own pickling, as well as making all of the cream cheese spreads and jams.

“All of the people and companies at Sprout, SBDC, and BCFR are connected and have created an ecosystem that is intended to help these local food businesses thrive,” Jaramillo says. “Battle Creek is lucky to have all of this for small businesses. I don’t think many other places have so many cool opportunities. I never in my life thought I would be where I’m at today. I moved here from Ohio and didn’t know a soul. I have organically created something here.”

Were it not for the support and resources she was able to tap into, she says she doesn’t know if she would have forged ahead. Though there was grant money involved in the start-up of DelectAbles, the bulk of the financing was left up to her.

“I’m in recovery, so it’s not like I had big savings socked away. I’m bootstrapping and funding it all with money I’m earning on the spot. But, I like to say that everyone’s able at DelectAble, including me.”