- We're honored to be joined by Dr. Steven Bier, who's the co-founder of Popcorn for the People.

Good to see you, Dr. Bier.

- It's good to see you.

My honor to be here.

- You got it.

Are you down in Philly?

- Well, we are in Piscataway, but word trickled down to Philadelphia, and now we have a facility in Philadelphia.

- Yeah, I heard the Philadelphia Eagles love you.

- You know, it was the craziest thing.

The CFO of the Eagles went to a Rutgers game because his daughter goes to Ohio State.

She sees the stand, the Popcorn for the People, the employing autistic, and a light bulb went off in his head.

He explained to us that Jeff Lurie, the owner of the Eagles.

- The owner.

- Yeah, Jeff Lurie gives them two missions a year, just two that they have to do, one, win the Super Bowl and two, do something for the autism community.

So I got a call Monday morning at 7:00 in the morning.

I thought it was a fake.

You know, "Who's calling?"

And the little words on the phone say, "Executive Offices Philadelphia Eagles."

- Love it.

- "I think I'll take this phone call."

- Steve, do us a favor, tell us about Sam, who's 34 as we speak and with autism, and make the connection for us to Popcorn for the People.

- So Sam is a high-functioning autistic young man, and back in his early 20s, he finished school, and he could not find a meaningful job, nothing that satisfied.

He was bagging at ShopRite.

He was pushing shopping carts.

And then one day in July, he's pushing shopping carts, and he forgets to bring his suntan lotion.

And he comes home red as a lobster.

So my wife, Dr. Barbie Zimmerman-Bier, who's actually a developmental pediatrician, she devotes her life to developmentally disabled patients, she said, "Look, Steven, you're not worth much to me, but I know you can figure out a business.

Figure something out for Sam.

This is not working."

So we went and, you know, life's funny, Steve.

This was sort of pre-internet, early internet-ish.

And so instead we got one of these books that listed all the business for sale in the region.

The very first one was a popcorn store, and we think, "Huh, popcorn, it's not seasonal.

It's not a fad.

It cuts through all social economic barriers.

Everybody loves it.

Not dangerous to make, no knives."

So crazy as it was, we bought a popcorn store in the Freehold Mall.

- And you're a nonprofit, right?

- We are a nonprofit.

Every penny, not 10%, not 20%, not once a year, every penny, you buy popcorn, every penny that you spend goes back.

- What's this been like for Sam?

- Well, look here, here's Sam.

He starts out.

He doesn't have a job, right?

And he has his difficulties, and make it worse is to be spending a lot of time doing nothing.

Now all of a sudden, he has a job, and he comes home.

It's wonderful to hear him come home tired.

It was great to hear him come home and complain about traffic.

That's a sign that you're really working.

So yeah, it's meant a lot.

- What message do you believe Popcorn for the People sends to others, not just parents, but those connected to folks who are dealing with autism as to what's possible?

- I mean, that's a great question.

I think the message should be, if, you know, really, I know it's a cliche that don't stop, but don't stop, work hard, and dig for ideas, and, of course, centered around your family.

And there's no reason why it can't be like any other successful small business in America.

You know, look, in the autism community, they were always looking for areas for work.

And quite often, it turns out to be big institutions, and they're wonderful, and they can do a lot, big corporations, but at the end of the day, the number one employer in the nation is small businesses.

So you might as well hop on board.

- And by the way, we're talking about autism and those with developmental disabilities.

What has this done for you, Steven?

(Steven laughs) - It is so funny to be recognized everywhere.

I was in court fighting a tax assessment on the house, and I had my papers.

I had my lawyer.

I have this thing I was in, and the judge goes, "Wait a second, you're the popcorn guy, right, from Rutgers?"

And surprise, we won the case.

- What's the Rutgers thing?

- Rutgers was our first breakthrough.

Rutgers is where we began to break away from just being a mom and pop.

And by the way, if people who are listening who are thinking about this, you have to make that decision.

Do you wanna be a mom and pop, which is fine, or do you want to be big?

- Yep.

- Okay.

And so what happened, we kept bugging Rutgers, bugging Rutgers.

You know, it's a big bureaucracy.

And then finally someone listened, and they told this man, Mark Tango from Sodexo.

He doesn't work there anymore, but at the time, he ran the food cessions.

He said, "I'm gonna come down to your store."

He comes down.

We set a big presentation in the store, right?

We had, you know, power slides.

We have way to talk.

He comes in, and he reaches over the counter and he said, " Well, that's good.

Yeah, oh, that's good.

All right, you can do Rutgers football."

Like, "We can do a Rutgers football game?

We can go to a game and sell?"

And he goes, "No, no, you don't understand.

You're gonna do all the Rutgers football.

You can do the men's basketball.

You can do the women's basketball.

You're gonna do the gymnastics.

You'll do all of it.

Call my assistant tomorrow."

- And then the Eagles hear about it, and the rest is history.

The website has been up for Popcorn for the People.

To you, Dr. Bier, to Sam, to everyone connected to your non-profit, A, congratulations.

- Thanks.

- B, keep doing important work because it's inspiring and motivating to so many.

Thank you, Steven.

- Thank you.

Bye.

- You got it, and I'm Steve Adubato.

That's Dr. Steven Bier, co-founder with Sam of Popcorn for the People.

See you next time.

- [Narrator] Think Tank with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Celebrating 30 years in public broadcasting.

Funding has been provided by The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.

Hackensack Meridian Health.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

New Jersey Institute of Technology.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Wells Fargo.

New Jersey’s Clean Energy program.

New Jersey Children’s Foundation.

And by The Fidelco Group.

Promotional support provided by Insider NJ.

And by New Jersey Monthly.

- Hi, I'm Abbie.

You might see me as an ordinary person, but I've been living with a brain injury since 2018.

Opportunity Project gave me hope and I've gained confidence through job skill training and helping my family.

Despite my challenges with memory, I see a possibility to keep improving.

- [Narrator] If you have a brain injury, you don't have to face your road to recovery alone.

Learn more about Opportunity Project and its partnership with Children's Specialized Hospital.