Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Ashland and Cherryland are census-designated places nestled between the cities of Hayward and San Leandro in unincorporated Alameda County. Ashland and Cherryland are diverse, with approximately half of the population that are Hispanic/Latinx (45.4% in Ashland, 55.0% in Cherryland), followed by Asian (24.3% in Ashland, 10.4% in Cherryland) and Black or African American (14.2% in Ashland, 12.9% in Cherryland). Despite the Ashland and Cherryland community's strong propensity for partnership and organizing, 19.3% of Ashland and 18.3% of Cherryland are living at or below the federal poverty level. Ashland has only three cafe establishments located near the periphery of the area and no major grocery stores located in the District. Farmers' markets and Community Supported Agriculture Programs (CSA) locations serving the Ashland and Cherryland community are limited; however, are available in more affluent areas of unincorporated county, like Castro Valley. During this reporting period, our efforts remained focused on serving residents in Ashland, as well as BIPOC food entrepreneurs and small-scale, sustainable farmers in this and nearby communities. During the third project year period, project staff continued to support3 small BIPOC-owned businesses (YoYo Treats, Creative Sips, and Baby Bean Pies) with business advising, sales channel opportunities, and access to low-cost loan programs. All vendors currently operate or previously operated out of E14 Eatery + Kitchen (E14). Project staff sustained an affordable, multi-farm Community Supported Agriculture pickup site out of E14 and distributed more than 1,500 boxes, approximately 15% of which when to households paying with CalFresh. Project staff purchased produce from 10 small, BIPOC farmers located within 150 miles of West Oakland for the CSA program. Project staff conducted nineindividual workshop sessions with residents of the adjacent Ashland Place community. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. By July 2022, launch Community Kitchen to increase sales opportunities for community entrepreneurs • 12-person Community Advisory Committee is formed to support program & operations plan, with 75% representation from community members and resident entrepreneurs that live in unincorporated Alameda County • Due to delays in construction and permitting, the Community Kitchen officially opened in April 2023. We are currently assessing the long term management needs of the space and streamlining operations by limiting the use of the kitchen to the 3 kiosk vendors. We have expanded our staffing capacity to include a kitchen manager and have been invited to chair the Eden Area small business committee on behalf of the Eden Area Chamber of Commerce. • Finalization of construction documents and completion of construction; • Complete • Grand opening of community kitchen • Complete • Finalization of equipment and smallware improvements • Complete 2) By September 2024, operate the Ashland Community Kitchen as an incubator for resident food entrepreneurs to serve/sell healthy foods. 15 entrepreneurs identified/onboarded to kitchen rental space Since the kitchen's opening in April 2023, 4 entrepreneurs have been on-boarded to the Community Kitchen Food entrepreneurs develop two additional sales channels; 4,300 additional local customers will be reached through increased space capacity and activation Mandela Partners continues to partner with Foodwise's San Francisco Mission Community Market and Ferry Building Plaza farmers markets. E14th Eatery + Kitchen (formerly Ashland Market & Cafe) is planning our first Patio Pop-up that will offer a sales channel opportunity for 6 entrepreneurs in our Food Business Pathways entrepreneur program. Approximately 2,100 additional local customers have already been reached through these activities, and we are on track to reach 4,300 additional local customers by the completion of this grant. • Food entrepreneurs using the community kitchen will source at least 25% of produce from Mandela's BIPOC Farmer Network. We have started this process with all three kiosk entrepreneurs, providing them with an overview of offerings and placing sample orders. 3. By September 2024, utilize the Ashland Community Kitchen as an affordable food access point by sourcing produce from BIPOC agricultural producers • Source 123,000 pounds of produce from 29 sustainable farmers part of Mandela's BIPOC Farmer Network; Generate $126,000 in sales and $90,000 for BIPOC sustainable growers part of Mandela's BIPOC Farmer Network • During this reporting period only, Mandela Partners has generated more than $110,000 for our network of BIPOC sustainable growers, approximately 120,000 pounds of produce and $110,000 in sales income. We have executed on the first year of a three year plan that is focused on growth, meeting a range of targets set in 2023, and cumulatively sold more than $225,000 in sales for our BIPOC farmer network during this grant. Distribute 2,700 CSA boxes • During this reporting period, Mandela Partners has distributed more than 1,600 CSA boxes through its retail program and partnerships with community organizations. We have distributed more than 2,700 boxes cumulatively. Redeem $30,000 in Fresh Creds Incentive dollars from limited-resource customers for produce During this reporting period more than $115,000 in Freshcreds incentive dollars have been redeemed for limited-resource customers for California grown produce. 4. By September 2024, conduct 60 community events & workshops to activate the community kitchen that infuses healthy local food production, local entrepreneurship & community engagement • 25 business development workshops (by Sept 2024) • All business development workshops were conducted virtually while the Community Kitchen was in construction. • 1 Food Business Pathways 6-week workshop series • 2 Permitting & Licensing workshops • 2 Finding Funding for your small business workshops TOTAL : 5 Business Development Workshops • 30 nutrition education workshops (by Sept 2024) During this reporting period, 9 nutrition education workshops were hosted with the Ashland community.• 90% nutrition education workshop participants report increased ability to prepare healthy produce-centered meals at home as a result of nutrition education workshops • Across the nine workshops hosted in this grant period, more than 80% of workshop participants reported an increased ability to prepare healthy produce-centered meals. • 5 pop up events (by Sept 2024) • During this reporting period, we hosted 7 Pop up events featuring 4 small food businesses hosted during this reporting period: Pineapple Whips, Paperrockfork, TriniGirlDoubles, Seasonal Sweets, Maldoni's Sweet & Savory, Josephine's Southern Cuisine • 75% of food entrepreneurs report increased market opportunities and sales
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Ashland and Cherryland are census-designated places nestled between the cities of Hayward and San Leandro in unincorporated Alameda County. Ashland and Cherryland are diverse, with approximately half of the population that are Hispanic/Latinx (45.4% in Ashland, 55.0% in Cherryland), followed by Asian (24.3% in Ashland, 10.4% in Cherryland) and Black or African American (14.2% in Ashland, 12.9% in Cherryland). Despite the Ashland and Cherryland community's strong propensity for partnership and organizing, 19.3% of Ashland and 18.3% of Cherryland are living at or below the federal poverty level. Ashland has only three cafe establishments located near the periphery of the area and no major grocery stores located in the District. Farmers' markets and Community Supported Agriculture Programs (CSA) locations serving the Ashland and Cherryland community are limited; however, are available in more affluent areas of unincorporated county, like Castro Valley. During this project, our efforts focused on serving residents in Ashland, as well as BIPOC food entrepreneurs and small-scale, sustainable farmers in this and nearby communities. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1) By July 2022, launch Community Kitchen to increase sales opportunities for community entrepreneurs Finalized construction documents and completed construction; held grand opening and finalized equipment and smallware improvements by April 2023 Formed 12-person Community Advisory Committee to support program & operations plan, with 75% representation from community members and resident entrepreneurs that live in unincorporated Alameda County Due to delays in construction and permitting, the Community Kitchen officially opened in April 2023. We expanded our staffing capacity to include a kitchen manager and have built out the capacity of the kitchen to host 3 kiosk vendors, pop up events, kitchen rentals for entrepreneurs. 2) By September 2024, operate the Ashland Community Kitchen as an incubator for resident food entrepreneurs to serve/sell healthy foods 15 entrepreneurs identified/onboarded to kitchen rental space Since the kitchen's opening in April 2023, 4 entrepreneurs have been on-boarded to the Community Kitchen. Food entrepreneurs develop two additional sales channels; 4,300 additional local customers will be reached through increased space capacity and activation Mandela Partners partnered with Foodwise's San Francisco Mission Community Market and Ferry Building Plaza farmers markets, where 7 number of entrepreneurs had access to a new market and developed a larger customer base. E14th Eatery + Kitchen (formerly Ashland Market & Cafe) hosted 7patio pop ups that offered a sales channel opportunity for 4 entrepreneurs in our Food Business Pathways entrepreneur program. Approximately 4,300 additional local customers were reached through these activities during this grant period. Food entrepreneurs using the community kitchen will source at least 25% of produce from Mandela's BIPOC Farmer Network. We began this work with all three kiosk entrepreneurs as well as other entrepreneurs that are part of Mandela Partners' Food Business Pathways program. All received an initial orientation and guidance on sourcing their produce, and several have placed orders, receiving produce orders to support their recipe development and menu offerings. 3. By September 2024, utilize the Ashland Community Kitchen as an affordable food access point by sourcing produce from BIPOC agricultural producers Source 123,000 pounds of produce from 29 sustainable farmers part of Mandela's BIPOC Farmer Network; Generate $126,000 in sales and $90,000 for BIPOC sustainable growers part of Mandela's BIPOC Farmer Network Cumulatively during this grant, the farmers in our BIPOC farmer network earned close to $300,000 in sales revenue, distributed across our wholesale, CPS, and CSA programs. The Ashland community was a key recipient of these sales, through our Community Supported Agriculture produce box program and our Community Produce Stand (launched in early 2024). Distribute 2,700 CSA boxes Over 5,000 CSA boxes were distributed during this grant period, including through the E14 Eatery & Kitchen pick up site and local home delivery. Redeem $30,000 in Fresh Creds Incentive dollars from limited-resource customers for produce During this grant period, more than $260,000 in Freshcreds incentive dollars have been redeemed for limited-resource customers for California grown produce, including through the purchase of Fresh Creds eligible CSA boxes and at the Community Produce Stand at E14 Eatery & Kitchen. 4. By September 2024, conduct 60 community events & workshops to activate the community kitchen that infuses healthy local food production, local entrepreneurship & community engagement 25 business development workshops (by Sept 2024) During this grant, due to the delays in construction and later opening date for the kitchen, as well as staff turnover in 2024, we were able to complete 15 total business development workshops, including: 5 Food Business Pathways 6-week workshop series 5 Permitting & Licensing workshops 5 Finding Funding for your small business workshops 30 nutrition education workshops (by Sept 2024) During this grant more than 40 nutrition education workshops were hosted with residents, including in the Ashland community. More than 80% of nutrition education workshop participants report increased ability to prepare healthy produce-centered meals at home as a result of nutrition education workshops across the grant period. 5 pop up events (by Sept 2024) We hosted seven (7) total Pop up events featuring small food businesses during this grant: Pineapple Whips, Paperrockfork, TriniGirlDoubles, Seasonal Sweets, Maldoni's Sweet & Savory, Josephine's Southern Cuisine
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Ashland and Cherryland are census-designated places nestled between the cities of Hayward and San Leandro in unincorporated Alameda County. Ashland and Cherryland are diverse, with approximately half of the population that are Hispanic/Latinx (45.4% in Ashland, 55.0% in Cherryland), followed by Asian (24.3% in Ashland, 10.4% in Cherryland) and Black or African American (14.2% in Ashland, 12.9% in Cherryland). Despite the Ashland and Cherryland community's strong propensity for partnership and organizing, 19.3% of Ashland and 18.3% of Cherryland are living at or below the federal poverty level. Ashland has only three cafe establishments located near the periphery of the area and no major grocery stores located in the District. Farmers' markets and Community Supported Agriculture Programs (CSA) locations serving the Ashland and Cherryland community are limited; however, are available in more affluent areas of unincorporated county, like Castro Valley.During this reporting period, our efforts remained focused on serving residents in Ashland, as well as BIPOC food entrepreneurs and small-scale, sustainable farmers in this and nearby communities. During the second project year period, project staff supported a total of 3 small BIPOC-owned businesses (YoYo Treats, Creative Sips, and Baby Bean Pies) with business advising, sales channel opportunities, and access to low-cost loan programs. All vendors currently operate or previously operated out of E14 Eatery + Kitchen (E14). Project staff sustained an affordable, multi-farm Community Supported Agriculture pickup site out of E14 and distributed more than 1,500 boxes, approximately 10% of which when to households paying withCalFresh. Project staff purchased produce from 8 small, BIPOC farmers located within 150 miles of West Oakland for the CSA program. Project staff conducted tenindividual workshop sessionswith residents of the adjacent Ashland Place community. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Now that the E14 Eatery & Kitchen are fully open and activated, we expect significant activity during the last 11 months of this grant and in 2024. Some activities that will support the accomplishment of our goals are described below: E14th Eatery & Kitchen Patio Pop-up The E14th Patio Pop-up is an event all about bringing community together, supporting local food businesses, and celebrating the rich flavors that Ashland has to offer. This event will feature our 3 existing kiosk vendors, 3 emerging food businesses, and a produce stand hosted by Mandela Produce Distribution. 7 Business Development Workshops Onboard 4 new entrepreneurs to the Community Kitchen space Host 20 Nutrition Education Workshops Ensure entrepreneurs using E14 Eatery are aware of Mandela's produce offerings from our BIPOC farmer network, and begin to place orders Continue to grow Mandela Partners' overall sales channels for our BIPOC farmer network, including produce sales as part of the E14 events, and continuing to activate and promote the E14 space as a site for CSA pick up, nutrition education, and other related programming.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. By July 2022, launch Community Kitchen to increase sales opportunities for community entrepreneurs 12-person Community Advisory Committee is formed to support program & operations plan, with 75% representation from community members and resident entrepreneurs that live in unincorporated Alameda County Due to delays in construction and permitting, the Community Kitchen officially opened in April 2023. We are currently assessing the long term management needs of the space and streamlining operations by limiting the use of the kitchen to the 3 kiosk vendors. We have expanded our staffing capacity to include a kitchen manager and have been invited to chair the Eden Area small business committee on behalf of the Eden Area Chamber of Commerce. We will leverage these new opportunities to form the CAC in 2024 to help inform program design and implementation in the space. Finalization of construction documents and completion of construction; Complete Grand opening of community kitchen Complete Finalization of equipment and smallware improvements Complete 2) By September 2024, operate the Ashland Community Kitchen as an incubator for resident food entrepreneurs to serve/sell healthy foods 15 entrepreneurs identified/onboarded to kitchen rental space Since the kitchen's opening in April 2023, 4 entrepreneurs have been on-boarded to the Community Kitchen. Food entrepreneurs develop two additional sales channels; 4,300 additional local customers will be reached through increased space capacity and activation Mandela Partners continues to partner with Foodwise's San Francisco Mission Community Market and Ferry Building Plaza farmers markets. E14th Eatery + Kitchen (formerly Ashland Market & Cafe) is planning our first Patio Pop-up that will offer a sales channel opportunity for 6 entrepreneurs in our Food Business Pathways entrepreneur program. Approximately 2,100 additional local customers have already been reached through these activities, and we are on track to reach 4,300 additional local customers by the completion of this grant. Food entrepreneurs using the community kitchen will source at least 25% of produce from Mandela's BIPOC Farmer Network. Not yet started. Staff from Mandela's team will be working with entrepreneurs in Q4 2023 and Q1 2024 to orient them to produce offers and begin orders . 3. By September 2024, utilize the Ashland Community Kitchen as an affordable food access point by sourcing produce from BIPOC agricultural producers Source 123,000 pounds of produce from 29 sustainable farmers part of Mandela's BIPOC Farmer Network; Generate $126,000 in sales and $90,000 for BIPOC sustainable growers part of Mandela's BIPOC Farmer Network During this reporting period only, Mandela Partners has generated more than $106,000 for our network of BIPOC sustainable growers,approximately 100,000 pounds of produce and $110,000 in sales income. We have developed a three year plan that is focused on growth in the coming year, and we expect to grow both revenue and sales in the remaining 11 months of this grant. Distribute 2,700 CSA boxes During this reporting period, Mandela Partners has distributed more than 1,500 CSA boxes through its retail program and partnerships with community organization. We are on track to distribute more than 2,700 boxes by the end of the grant period. Redeem $30,000 in Fresh Creds Incentive dollars from limited-resource customers for produce During this reporting period more than $42,000 in Freshcreds incentive dollars have been redeemed for limited-resource customers for California grown produce. 4. By September 2024, conduct 60 community events & workshops to activate the community kitchen that infuses healthy local food production, local entrepreneurship & community engagement 25 business development workshops (by Sept 2024) For this reporting period, all business development workshops were conducted virtually while the Community Kitchen was in construction. 4 Food Business Pathways 6-week workshop series 3 Permitting & Licensing workshops 3 Finding Funding for your small business workshops TOTAL : 10 Business Development Workshops 30 nutrition education workshops (by Sept 2024) During this reporting period, 10 nutrition education workshops were hosted with the Ashland community. We are on track to host an additional 20 before the end of the grant period. 5 pop up events (by Sept 2024) 3 Pop up events featuring 4 small food businesses hosted during this reporting period: De La Creamery PaperRockFork Bakery Tutuli Sweets Pineapple Whips 75% of food entrepreneurs report increased market opportunities and sales Data collection for this outcome not yet started 60% nutrition education workshop participants report increased ability to prepare healthy produce-centered meals at home as a result of nutrition education workshops Across the ten workshops hosted so far, more than 75% of workshop participants reported an increased ability to prepare healthy produce-centered meals.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:During the first project year period, project staff supported a total of 5 small BIPOC-owned businesses (YoYo Treats, Thank Que Grill, Hella Vegan, Creative Sips, and Baby Bean Pies) with business advising, sales channel opportunities, and access to zero-interest capital through the Kiva micro-loan program. All vendors currently operate or previously operated out of E14 Eatery + Kitchen (E14), formerly Ashland Market and Cafe (AMC). Project staff launched an affordable, multi-farm Community Supported Agriculture pickup site out of E14 and distributed a total of 736 boxes to 261 households, 73 of which were enrolled in CalFresh. Project staff purchased producefrom 7 small, BIPOC farmers based in the Central Coast for the CSA program. Project staff conducted two six-week wellness workshop series (a total of 12 individual workshop sessions)called Redefining Health. The objectives of the Redefining Health workshop series are to increaseknowledge inexercise, stress management, building healthier relationships, and healthier eating and cooking.As a result, 33% learned healthier ways to manage stress, 33% increased how often they cook with fresh veggies, 40% increased exercise frequency, 60% learned new recipes, and 100% walked away feeling a sense of community. Changes/Problems:The kitchen project has been delayed due to a number of unavoidable challenges. First, the permit approval process took at least 6 months longer than we anticipated due to forces outside our control at the municipal level. Second, kitchen equipment fulfillment was significantly impacted by supply chain bottlenecks, which have since eased in the last 2-3 months. Lastly, identifying a contractor for our project took at least 3 months longer than we anticipated, further contributing to construction delays. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Once the kitchen launches in November 2022, we expect to begin meeting all project deliverables that have not started yet.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1) By July 2022, launch Community Kitchen at Ashland Market & Cafe to increase sales opportunities for community food entrepreneurs Outcomes: 12-person Community Advisory Committee is formed to support program & operations plan, with 75% representation from community members and resident entrepreneurs that live in unincorporated Alameda County The kitchen opening date is now November2022, due to permitting delays and subsequent construction supply chain challenges. As a result, we pushed back this outcome to occur after the kitchen is launched. We decided to prioritize existing kiosk operators' use of the space for the first 2-3 months once the kitchen opens, and will forrm the CAC in early 2023 to help inform program design and implementation in the space. Finalization of construction documents and completion of construction Done Finalization of equipment and smallware improvements Grand opening of community kitchen Done 2) By September 2024, operate the Ashland Community Kitchen at full capacity to serve as an incubator for resident food entrepreneurs to serve and sell healthy foods Outcomes: Food entrepreneurs develop two additional sales channels Not started via Kitchen, but two additional sales channels were created through partnerships with Foodwise's San Francisco Mission Community Market and Ferry Building Plaza farmers markets. Food entrepreneurs using the community kitchen will source at least 25% of produce from Mandela's BIPOC Farmer Network Not started 4,300 additional local customers will be reached through increased space capacity and activation Not started 3)By September 2024, utilize the Ashland Community Kitchen as an affordable food access point by sourcing produce from small BIPOC sustainable agricultural producers. Outcomes: Source 123,000 pounds of produce from 29 sustainable farmers part of Mandela's BIPOC Farmer Network 22,527 lbs of produce from 7farms has been distributed through the CSA program Generate $126,000 in sales and $90,000 for BIPOC sustainable growers part of Mandela's BIPOC Farmer Network $21,252of CSA sales and $19,882 in revenue for BIPOC sustainable growershavebeen generated from 10/1/21-9/30/22. Distribute 2,700 CSA boxes 736 CSA boxes have been distributed Redeem $30,000 in Fresh Creds Incentive dollars from limited-resource customers for produce $2,190in Fresh Creds incentive dollars have been redeemed 4)By September 2024, conduct 60 community events & workshops to activate the community kitchen that infuses healthy local food production, local entrepreneurship & community engagement Outcomes: 75% of food entrepreneurs report increased market opportunities & sales Not started 75% of local residents report being able to access affordable healthy foods more frequently as a result of the CSA Program Not started 60% report increased ability to prepare healthy produce-centered meals at home as a result of nutrition education workshops 33%reported increased ability to prepare healthy produce-centered meals at home as a result of nutrition education workshops
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