Hope & Main: Giving Hope to Food Focused Small Businesses

This week on Business Over Breakfast we were joined by the President and Founder of Hope & Main, Lisa Raiola. 

In 2009 during the last recession, Lisa knew that she wanted to start her own food business after she had been ill and had learned a lot about food and nutrition. She wanted to be able to bring food to people that were medically shut-in and unable to cook and shop for themselves like she was. Her goal was to pay forward the kindness that she had received by creating a business that would allow her to do so. 

Looking for a 1500 square foot building to jump-start her business, Lisa ended up with an 18,000 square foot abandoned elementary school. After standing in the abandoned school Lisa knew that she wanted to create an incubator that would include kitchens for small food businesses to utilize. And so Hope & Main became a shared infrastructure that helps small businesses grow more and create a localized, sustainable food system in RI.

Since the start of Hope & Main, they have had about 70 graduates which are well known within the community, some being PVDonuts, Rebel Bagels, and Reinberger Nut Butter.

How do you get involved with Hope & Main? Go to them with a food idea! Hope & Main will assist you in getting to the point where you can legally sell your product. They will help you with obtaining a food processing license, food safety managers certification, insurance, etc. Once you are able to sell your product, Hope & Main will then help you access the markets - whether that be a local farmers market or a platform such as Shoplocalrhodeisland.com!

“It’s really more about raising people’s awareness … local businesses have a multiplies effect and people should be aware of that, when they’re making their decision of where to put their dollar”

For the first time ever in Rhode Island, the Sam Adams Brewing the American Dream Pitch Room Competition was at Hope & Main on October 19th. There was a panel of judges that evaluated five different pitches from food and beverage companies. In addition to the Sam Adams Pitch Room Competition, Hope & Main will be hosting their holiday markets this November and December. For more information visit https://makefoodyourbusiness.org/events/.

Watch the full episode with Lisa above to learn more about Hope & Main!

Each week on Business Over Breakfast, marketing experts Lori and Ben are joined by Rhode Island entrepreneurs who are living their dream of owning and running a business. If you’re a Rhode Island business owner and want to share your story please contact danielle@visualthrive.com and visit ShopLocalRhodeIsland to learn about other small businesses.