Anchor Spotlight: Roger Williams University

Food Service for a Sustainable Future

Roger Williams University, a SupplyRI Anchor, has partnered with Bon Appetit to bring the highest quality food to its students and to help improve the health, sustainability, and vitality of the region’s food system.

James Gubata, RWU dining manager, believes that "now more than ever we need to support our local food vendors. Building a sustainable, resilient, and equitable food system starts by investing in the people and places that will make this possible. We owe this to ourselves and future generations of people who will inherit our planet".  

Their approach to delivering a quality dining program to its students is based on cooking from scratch using fresh, authentic ingredients and buying locally whenever possible. These principles are embedded in the core values of Bon Appetit, charged with servicing the daily food needs of RWU students and the extended community. Our goal is to spend at least 20% of our annual food budget supporting our Farm to Fork vendors including small local farms, fishers, ranchers, and artisans.  

Business Partner: Hope & Main is Expanding in Providence

Hope & Main, the state’s premier culinary business incubator, is planning to expand its reach from the East Bay to the Creative Capital with two major moves.

The first of these two major moves is a new Downtown Makers Marketplace in the heart of the city’s Financial District sometime in early 2023. Filling out the ground floor of the Paolino Properties’ office building on Westminster Street, the new breakfast- and lunch-focused eatery/local market will offer hand-crafted and locally sourced made-to-order items, grab-and-go hot and cold foods, corporate catering, plus, of course, a curated selection of Hope & Main members’ products and prepared foods. The Marketplace is designed with Hope & Main’s culinary creators in mind, aiming to highlight their budding businesses. As part of an innovative incubation program to test-drive new food ideas, these entrepreneurs will prepare and sample items representative of their offerings and unique food heritage from places like Ethiopia, Trinidad, Israel, Mexico, Cambodia, and the Philippines.

Hope & Main President and Founder Lisa Raiola, notes that "Hope & Main Downtown Makers Marketplace is dedicated to showcasing the enormous talent of our emerging and iconic member businesses... We know how good these products are and can’t wait to accelerate the success of these makers".

The second of these two major moves is acquiring a facility in the West End of Providence where it can establish three new shared-use kitchens while using the additional space to build out kitchens for Hope & Main graduates.

Former Providence Mayor and owner of Paolino Properties Joseph R. Paolino Jr. has been a key collaborator on the project from its conception, helping to convene the various partners and ensure that Hope & Main has all the necessary resources to turn it into a reality. Paolino Jr. notes, “The Downtown Makers Marketplace is a fresh idea that will engage workers and tourists alike in Rhode Island’s food start-up culture”.

This expansion will provide great opportunities and promise for small businesses in the food sector looking to expand into the local market in the city of Providence and the surrounding suburbs. 

To see the full press release from the Rhode Island Monthly and to learn more about the project, see the link below

Division of Taxation: Tax Security Awareness

With the holidays and tax season approaching, the Rhode Island Division of Taxation highlights the importance of protecting financial and tax information. It is critical for taxpayers and tax professionals alike to take extra steps to protect your information and your client’s information online. The increased online activity in the coming months can pose a heightened risk of fraud. Criminals use the holiday season to steal financial information and identity thieves trick people into sharing their personal information by email, text message, and online.

Highlights

• Cyber Monday: Protect personal and financial information online 
• Tax professionals should review their security protocols
• Get an Identity Protection PIN

Supplier Spotlight: Chi Kitchen

Minnie Luong is the founder & CHI-EO of Chi Kitchen, an award-winning brand of fermented Kimchi handcrafted in Pawtucket, RI. Using her background as a chef and culinary educator, Minnie started Chi Kitchen at Hope & Main in 2015. 

Today her products are sold in stores all over New England and served in restaurants and college campuses. Her goal is to put Rhode Island on the map for having the best-tasting, most innovative fermented vegetable company in the country, and so far the industry is paying attention… In 2022 Chi Kitchen’s Fermented Sesame Slaw won the GOLD Award in the Pickles & Olives category as part of the Specialty Food Association 2022 sofi™ Awards, a top honor in the $170.4 billion specialty food industry. 

In 2023, Chi Kitchen will expand from being a regional leader to a national brand, growing its footprint from 100 stores to 500 stores nationwide. In addition, they are launching their first to-the-market single serving 'Good Gut to Go' packets in vegan meal kits by Purple Carrot.  

Proud to be a certified Woman & Minority Owned, family business, Minnie’s personal mission is to have her kimchi available in every college & school dining in the country. “Since I started Chi Kitchen out of Hope & Main 8 years ago, the demand for probiotic-packed fermented vegetables has sky-rocketed. People are experiencing the value of these beneficial foods in their everyday lives and we’re so happy that we can offer such a delicious and satisfying way of enhancing well-being & vitality in our community while maintaining our hand-crafted quality and authenticity. I don’t think I could have built this business anywhere but here in Rhode Island.”

Upcoming Training Events:

December 8th

• Four Ways to Make Waste Visible and Improve Productivity-Value Stream Mapping

December 13th

• Santander's Cultivate Small Business Information Session

December 15th

• Four Ways to Make Waste Visible and Improve Productivity-Quick Changeover

December 29th

• Getting Certified as a Woman, Minority, or Veteran-owned Business

Business Assistance

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