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June 1st, 2021 -- Last month, Fresh Food Generation was invited to join the Ujima Good Business Alliance, a rigorous process that involves compliance with our 36 Good Business Standards, for a second year. We share Fresh Food Generation’s pride in their outstanding business practices.
Some highlights include:
Everyone on their team is paid a living wage
After six months everyone can get a 401k, without matching
Fair scheduling has never been an issue for them, as most of their team have consistent scheduling
They do not do Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) checks, except for one instance with a healthcare partner, which requires background checks for vendors and suppliers
Although not every employee can vote, they were all willing to feed voters and poll workers during the 2020 election
In 2013, Fresh Food Generation began as a food truck whose mission was to disrupt food disparities by creating a healthier food experience for Boston residents. Over the years, co-founders Cassandria Campbell and Jackson Renshaw managed to expand their Caribbean farm-to-table business, adding a catering and cafe space to their business. Since 2020, the duo and their staff have been working hard throughout the pandemic, distributing groceries and prepared meals through their collaborative efforts with partners like CommonWealth Kitchen and the Food Project.
On a phone call last month, Cassandria Campbell, co-founder and spoke with us about joining the Ujima Good Business Alliance and opening their first restaurant.
On joining the Ujima Good Business Alliance
Cassandria Campbell: In addition to being an Alliance member, I’m a general member and a Boston resident. I am looking at it from two different perspectives. The first being: what kind of community do I want to live in? Secondly: what kinds of businesses do I want in my community?
As a business owner, it allows me to build community with like-minded owners; a network of support; an organization that is looking out for you; a great way to be continuously challenged to do better. Having both hats on, I want to support businesses that are doing good things, and I want to do good things. We pay our team a living wage, it didn’t happen overnight we had to work and fight for it to get to that place and bring in enough revenue to guarantee work at a living wage. That tension is healthy. Ujima is both supporting and challenging businesses.
On opening a new restaurant
CC: Our new restaurant on Talbot ave in Dorchester, next to Lee School. We had wanted this location for a long time. We have outgrown our shared space, significantly. We wanted to have our own home in a neighborhood that we’ve serviced, supported us, and are excited to have us. We’re approaching a year. Participated in a community process. Travis Lee, the owner also owns Dorchester Brewing, through T. Lee Development. [It’s been a] relatively long build-out process. It’s going to be great because we have patio space. We don’t have enough patio space in Dorchester, broadly speaking, and this area in particular. In the future, we’d like to have community cooking classes, use the patio for yoga or any type of arts-based programming.
On futurity
CC: For the business as a whole, I’m excited that we made it through the pandemic. We’re like wow, that pushed our business beyond what we thought we were capable of. Now I’m looking forward to a new era; we’re not the same business, we’re not the same people. We have the chance to open up a new space and decide who we want to be as a company as a people. I think 191 Talbot Avenue is the place to do that.
The Ujima Business Alliance falls really nicely into that. As we approach this next chapter of our business, being able to do it with very clear values of who we are and what we stand for, which Ujima has worked hard to create and define is exciting.
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