July 21
July 21, 2009Louise Fanguy Buquet
July 23, 2009
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
In the case of Terrebonne Association for Retarded Citizens (TARC), which tapped into the egg-selling business last week, the chickens came first.
“The Hen House,” as TARC calls its newest business venture, joins 18 other TARC small businesses that are operated by individuals with intellectual developmental disabilities.
According to TARC Executive Director Mary Lynn Bisland, The Hen House has 18 client workers and three staff members. TARC’s Houma Grown department runs the business, along with its daily job of growing vegetables and produce that is sold in the agency’s country store on Grand Caillou Road in Houma.
Bisland came up with the idea of implementing a fresh yard egg-selling business at TARC after reading an article about south Louisianans raising chickens in their yards and selling the eggs for profit.
“I thought it would be such a great thing here at TARC,” she said. “We have 21 acres of land, and one of our businesses just moved off campus. So, I figured we had the space to start a fresh yard egg-selling business.”
Bisland said all they needed were some chickens and a henhouse for egg-laying.
With the blessing of the agency’s board of directors, the agency hired construction workers to fence in an area for the chickens to roam. They converted the old Cajun Crate Company building into a henhouse.
Last week, 25 hens arrived at the TARC campus from various farms in Houma.
Bisland said the agency did not have to pay for the chickens because the family of one of TARC’s clients, who had a farm, donated 20 chickens. Another five came from an agency worker who also raises chickens.
“When the chickens came, we were so happy,” she said. “Everybody was excited to see them roam around in the yard. It’s so much fun to watch the clients tend to the chickens.”
Selling fresh yard eggs is a step in another direction for TARC. The agency has successful candy, bakery and restaurant businesses.
But selling eggs too? Bisland said the idea of selling fresh yard eggs is not as farfetched as it seems.
“We are selling a product and giving jobs to the clients we serve,” she said. “They have to feed, care for and handle the chickens, as well as maintain the chicken coop and prepare the eggs for retail. This is just an additional activity for our clients to participate in.
“Most agencies that provide job opportunities for individuals with intellectual development disabilities offer them repetitive work. But we don’t have those industries here. So we had to think outside of the box and create a business that would benefit us and the public.”
TARC has designed its own packaging for the eggs, and residents can purchase a dozen fresh yard eggs at the TARC Restaurant and Gift Shop’s country store for $3.
The Terrebonne Association for Retarded Citizens (TARC) has tapped into the egg-selling business. TARC Executive Director Mary Lynn Bisland, the brains behind the egg selling business, stands outside fenced in chicken area where 25 hens roam before laying their eggs. * Photo courtesy of TARC
