When the team behind the Serving Our Communities foundation met to winnow down the list of prospective winners for its inaugural Food City initiative grants competition, they were impressed by the founders and community activists who had entered. They were inspired by the innovative ideas each had brought to the table and filled with hope at the creative solutions for how to create an inclusive and equitable food ecosystem in St. Louis.
There was one major problem, though: They could not, in good conscience, select just a handful of winners.
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“We were all just looking at each other—even during their pitches—saying that we were going to give them money no matter what,” recalls chief operations officer Darren Jackson. “It was impossible to choose, because the reality is that each of these entrepreneurs has a social good– and community-focused mission, alongside their really good food. It’s really hard to say no to somebody who is feeding their neighbors. And how do you say no to toasted ravioli? We couldn’t pick, so we ended up giving money to everyone.”
Last night, the results were revealed when the Serving Our Cities Food City Initiative awarded nearly a half million dollars to St. Louis–based food nonprofits and businesses working to have a positive impact on the region’s food system. Grantees—ranging from George Washington Carver Farms and Known & Grown to Welcome Neighbor STL and STL Toasted—were awarded anywhere from $1,000 to $150,000.
For the foundation, the goal is to identify change-makers already having an impact in their communities and amplify their impact through funding and other support—and then get out of the way. “There is an urge to go in and try to fix something when you have resources,” Jackson says. “But we wanted to go in and find out who is already trying to solve these challenges and come alongside them to collaborate and bridge those gaps.”
The Grant Recipients
Food City tripled its initial commitment by awarding a total of $436,000 in grants, ranging from $1,000 microgrants to major grants of $75,000 (plus $25,000 in-kind support).
Major Grants: The Serving Our Communities Foundation is awarding a total of $350,000 to these emerging leaders, which “demonstrate extraordinary potential for scalability and community impact”:
- Community Builder: George Washington Carver Farms by Ujima – $150,000
- Growth: Pop Pop Hurray, Tony Davis – $75,000 + $25,000 In-Kind Production Support
- Innovation: Propel Kitchens, Kisha Lee – $50,000
- Promise: Show Me The World Project, Sylvestor Chisom & Samantha Lurie – $50,000
- Food Equity: New Roots Urban Farm, Mina Aria – $20,000
- Climate & Sustainability: Known & Grown STL, Rae Miller – $5,000
Jackson and the Marsons see George Washington Carver Farms as the embodiment of the Food City initiative. “We first met Nick [Seed] at a small pitch competition back in 2019, and he had a salsa business at the time,” Jackson says. “As we chiseled away at his bigger vision, he told us that what he really wanted was to have a version of Eckert’s Farm on the north side. We looked at him and said, ‘Agrotourism on the North Side? That is the vision!’ We teamed up with him and his board and put together a plan to get six vacant lots and a house on the land that will serve as a plant science and environmental science learning center. This was the first real grassroots program we helped sprout.”
Research & Development Grants: Food City is providing $10,000 to help these organizations lay a foundation for scaling their businesses:
- STL Toasted, Matthew Fuller
- Mighty Cricket, Sarah Schlafly
- Taste of Jack’s, Jordan Franks
Matching Funds: Food City will match up to $10,000 in new funds raised by these organizations:
- Coahoma Orchards, Dail Chambers
- Central Baptist Church St. Louis, Natasha Nedrick
- Growing Food Growing People, Inc., Leah Burnett
- Habuyta, Orly Peters
- Welcome Neighbor STL, Jessica Bueler
Microgrants: A series of $1,000 microgrants were awards to six food businesses and nonprofits to co-produce community gatherings next year:
- Bo.Co Boba Tea, Lily Clark
- The Table STL, Kristopher Nelson
- City Greens Market, Lacy Cagle
- Patty’s Cheesecake, Pat Upchurch
- IncrediRolls N Sweets, Cortney Carter
- Yemanja Brazil, Raul Raul
The Vision
Dave and Jan Marson founded Serving our Communities in 2020, after selling their company, Nature’s Bakery, to KIND, a division of Mars. Food justice had always been a part of Nature’s Bakery’s ethos since the company began in 2011, so it was natural that it would be central to their mission when looking for a way to have an impact on the community following the sale.
“Right before Nature’s Bakery was sold, we were looking at the areas where workers were living, and we found that, out of the 400 people here—people helping to build this food ecosystem—many were living in ZIP codes that didn’t have access to food,” Jackson says. “Part of the goal after the company was sold was to look at how we could start to build value in the community that help build value in both the business and the St. Louis region as whole.”
With Jackson serving as chief operations officer, the Marsons launched Serving Our Communities as a general, food-focused social enterprise both in St. Louis and Nevada. Food City operates as its St. Louis-centric component, whose mission is to create a more inclusive, sustainable food ecosystem across the metro area, with a shared value system of equality, empowerment, and social responsibility. Though a community impact survey and listening opportunities throughout the region, the Food City initiative identified access to capital as one of the most pressing needs for community activists, small business owners, and entrepreneurs looking to make a positive impact.
To fund these innovators, Food City launched what was originally envisioned as a pitch competition, which would award grants to those with the most compelling, meaningful, and potentially impactful ideas. It took no time for the Marsons and Jackson to see that the idea of a competition was not the right way of looking at things; while fun, the idea of the initiative was to be collaborative, facilitate partnerships, and create community—something that only made sense if everyone was a winner.
“Our survey results [so far] are telling a cyclical story: People need and want fresh, healthy food in their neighborhoods,” Jan Marson said in announcing the grant recipients. “They want to work in the industry but don’t necessarily see a viable career path. Diverse entrepreneurs and organizers have great ideas they want to sow and budding businesses they want to nurture in their own communities, but they lack access to capital and face significant labor challenges. Hearing from so many visionary builders, it became obvious that these are solutions we need to fund now—not next year, now. So we decided to support nearly every finalist in some capacity.”
The Marsons and Jackson see the Food City Initiative as part of a larger movement to create not only a more equitable and sustainable food system in St. Louis but also to create a region in which everyone is able to thrive. They see food innovators, small business owners, and food-centric activists as the backbone of that mission, and they believe the opportunities these businesses and organizations provide contribute to economic development. When workers are doing better and people have better access to food, the entire region will see a positive impact.
“We are growing these solutions from the ground up,” Jackson says. “It’s really cool to be able to add more seeds, water, and sunshine to these projects. The people have the solutions.”
Hear our interview with Jan Marson on The BizSTL Podcast.
