By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
A new initiative designed to reduce barriers in the food industry for Hispanic business owners and those interested in the industry was well received by business leaders and members of the Hispanic community.
The group gathered at the Gordon Food Service Distribution Center on Monday, May 7, for the inaugural Transformando West Michigan initiative, “Feeding Minds, Mouths, and Pockets.” The goal of this program is to provide Hispanic business owners currently working or with the desire to work in the food industry with the necessary financial tools and food safety knowledge to become successful.
“This is a bridge that really needed to be built,” said Shawn Kohlhaas, owner of Culinary Cultivations, which provides food safety certification, event staffing and hospitality consulting in Michigan.
Guillermo Cisneros, executive director for the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the driving force behind the new initiative, said he has spent the last year working on developing the program and was thrilled to see it launch.
The first phase of Transformando West Michigan is six sessions that will take place over the next three months. Through these sessions, which are lead by Principal Financial and Culinary Cultivations, participants will receive financial and food safety certification classes that will allow their business to have increased knowledge in areas like cashflow, wealth creation, bookkeeping/accounting, customer service, and food safety. Those who complete the program will receive food safety certification required by the health department of any restaurant operator. A graduation ceremony is planned for August.
Much of the materials and the final exam to obtain certification will be in Spanish, which will help to break down some of the barriers many in the Hispanic community have faced when trying to open or operate food-based businesses. Even the opening program was mostly in Spanish to connect with the participants.
As part of the program’s efforts to reduce barriers and provide accessible professional services, program participants will be eligible to receive free legal services from the Varnum law firm through its MiSpringboard program. In addition, the program will provide participants access to financial institutions, certified public accountants (CPAs), attorneys, insurance experts and other consultants. Such access will allow these business owners to increase their support network and access resources within the West Michigan community. The Hispanic Chamber will also provide program participants with mentors who will work one on one with them on specific areas of their businesses, thereby offering personalized answers and targeted assistance.
Cisneros said the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce received a multi-year grant from The Wege Foundation, which totaled $167,000. This allowed the Hispanic Chamber to secure the resources needed to create the program and hire a program manager.
The Chamber also was able to partner with a number of local businesses that include Culinary Cultivations, Principal Financial, Gordon Food Services, Varnum, Grand Valley State University and the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
