Trick or Treat, we’ve got something local to eat…
I always remember trick or treating as a kid. It was a great way to interact with the community by going from house to house and meeting your neighbors. I might look silly trick or treating now, as an adult, but I do it in my own way – by buying treats from local businesses in the community. Here are some delicious treats from local small businesses that you can trick or treat with this Halloween.
Try a spooky Halloween Brownie Pop from The Chocolate Swirl
“When the economy tanked, two of my jobs were taken away. So I thought, it’s time to start my own,” reminisces Lisa Braciligiano, owner of The Chocolate Swirl. Lisa started off working as a theatrical stage manager. On opening night, everyone would show the cast with lavish gifts. “I was an intern, and not getting paid,” explains Lisa. “I was broke. So I made my own gifts.” Lisa started with a truffle, and would bring different chocolate desserts each time. “Everyone loved them. They kept telling me that I should sell them.”
After her exploits in theater, Lisa decided to attend culinary school. After she graduated, she was working multiple jobs as a pastry chef and at restaurants. It was a result of losing her job that prompted her to start her business. With an $8,000 loan from ACCION USA, Lisa was able to continue to rent kitchen space as well as increase her marketing.
Warm up your evening with a Dark ‘n’ Stormy cocktail with locally made ginger syrup from Morris Kitchens!
NYC foodie Kari Morris started Morris Kitchen, a local ginger syrup manufacturer, over 2 years ago with her brother Tyler. Coming from a family of gourmands, Kari and Tyler’s decision to be food and beverage entrepreneurs came as no surprise. Kari brings 10 years of experience in fine foods to her business and has acquired a host of very well known clients to sell her product. “October-December are very busy months. I’ve already been contacted by various magazine to feature my syrup as a Holiday To buy item,” Kari explains.A $9,000 loan from ACCION USA helped Kari increase production for the busy holiday season, as well as to purchase labels for new products and cover design costs.
How do her customers enjoy Kari’s ginger syrup, you might ask? According to an interview, “the syrup is delicious mixed with seltzer for fresh ginger ale, drizzled over ice cream, or used in one of the entree or dessert recipes posted on their website,” which also shares recipes for seasonal cocktails.
Try a LifeField Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookie. They go perfect with a cup of hot chocolate on a crisp autumn day.
A New York City native, Rhoda Plotkin’s business idea came about from a series of serendipitous interactions. Rhoda recounts her friend needing a USA-based contact 9 years ago to import high volumes of select Russian buckwheat. Realizing a lucrative market opportunity for this nutrient packed herb that can be used as a flour substitute for millions of gluten-free Americans, Rhoda decided to take a leap of faith by assuming the role as receiving link. Rhoda collaborated with her baker friend to develop a product line that would incorporate buckwheat, confident that baked goods would not be difficult to sell. “Once I got started, I just kept going,” Rhoda reflects, remembering being swept away with the excitement of entrepreneurship. “Creation is an exciting thing. Day-to-day office work can be dull and mundane but there is something thrilling about taking a risk to create something new,” Rhoda said.
However, Rhoda needed capital to purchase equipment, rent our warehouse space and import buckwheat in bulk but had no leverage with a commercial bank as a new entrepreneur requesting a loan for under $100,000. “It’s very difficult to get a commercial loan these days. Even people with good credit history can’t get a loan,” Rhoda explained. With Rhoda’s first ACCION USA loan for $5,000, Rhoda was able to expand her business by purchasing 35,000 pounds of buckwheat and securing additional warehouse space. LifeField Buckwheat has expanded to offer an array of buckwheat-based products available online and in select stores, from LifeField Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies to LifeField Pancake and Waffle Mix.
Take a walk on the wild side and spice it up with a guajillo and aji amarillo chile infused chocolate bar from Raaka Chocolates.
Ryan Cheney was living in a monastery in Thailand when he first tried the local organic chocolate that would inspire him to start his own 
chocolate company. When Ryan returned to the U.S. he created Raaka Chocolate and immediately developed relationships with farms in Dominican Republic and Bolivia to import free-trade, organic cacao. Ryan then started creating different flavor chocolates (Dark w/ Sea Salt, Blueberry Lavender, Hazelnut and Vanilla Rooibos) in his own home and sold at farmers markets to family and friends. Ryan didn’t expect his business to be a growing success but as the demand for his chocolate grew he knew he needed to find capital to expand.
With an ACCION USA loan for $20,000, Ryan was able to grow Raaka Chocolate by purchasing inventory, packaging supplies and also paying vending fees at Union Square and Columbus Circle markets. Today, Ryan has two employees, sells chocolate to over 17 stores in Manhattan, a store in Portland, Oregon and to customers all over the country through online sales.
Why Microfinance Is Important To Me
By Alexandra Mills
In college I went on spring break service trips to a village in Nicaragua two years in a row, each time hoping not only to gain a personal learning experience but also to make a lasting impact on the people there. When I was there last year I met an amazing woman named Francesca who has a small bread making business out of her home. She sold it to everyone in the town and would walk a few miles every day to sell it in the larger community of Somotillo. I remember Francesca saying that she could sell much more bread if she had another oven built, but she couldn’t afford it.
After coming back to the United States, I heard about microlending in a class and started thinking back to Francesca. I researched more into the world of microfinance and found Kiva.org. I was absolutely amazed with the fact that while I was finishing my senior year at Eckerd College in Florida, I could be lending to people just like Francesca anywhere in the world, including Somotillo. I realized that this would make a much larger impact than going there for a week every year. That’s when I knew I wanted to be involved on a larger scale.
Having been fortunate enough to travel to developing countries like China, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, it never crossed my mind that microfinance could benefit citizens of the United States. Since the start of my internship at Accion USA, I’ve learned that microfinance institutions in the United States are helping create opportunities for people in this struggling economy. I’ve realized that there are entrepreneurs like Francesca here in the US–in New York City, even on my block– who need the same financial assistance than people abroad. Some of these people have come thousands of miles from countries far and wide to live the “American dream”, but I can’t imagine how difficult that must be when most traditional financial institutions offer little or no support.
Accion USA works right here in our backyard and the mission is not to lift people out of poverty as much as it is to help small businesses thrive. I’ve been noticing how many jobs in the United States we’ve been helping create by giving small business loans. Every day, as I continue to learn the ins-and-outs of microfinance in the US, I pass by our clients in the streets of New York City and it reminds me why the mission of microfinance is so important to me.
Alexandra Mills is the Kiva Coordinator Intern at ACCION USA. She is a graduate of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL.
First Sam Adams “Food Labeling” Workshop a Success
October 4 marked a successful “Food Labeling” workshop (part 1 of 3) from the Sam Adams Brewing the American Dream program. Held at Sam Adams HQ’s in Boston, the event was led by industry specialists from Sam Adams and ACCION USA and had a fantastic showing of 46 local food and beverage entrepreneurs. The workshop, which covered a range of food labeling topics, is part of a broader mentoring campaign to help empower small businesses around the country with capital and invaluable industry knowledge.
Elizabeth Garlow, Business Development Officer at ACCION USA, commented that many food and beverage business owners in the audience were very impressed with how relevant the training was, a small business owner remarking that “it’s impossible to get this information anywhere else.” One attendee learned that local businesses were at an advantage because it is easier to create brand loyalty, considering that today many customers want to meet the owner and know the history of the business. Another attendee learned that listing “whole peppercorn” as an individual ingredient instead of listing all spices/flavors as “spices” will mitigate risk for a company. If you want to learn the logic behind this and other industry related advice from the event, check out a blogpost about the workshop from one of the attendees, Bienne Foods.
Register for part two of the “Food Labeling” workshop series to take place on Tuesday, October 11 called “Federal Regulation and Marketing Your Product.”