![]() ![]() But he’s most excited about the company’s new digs: a 1,700-square-foot space tricked out with a walk-in freezer as big as a food truck, a shiny new automated popsicle-wrapping machine and enough room to host the 25 employees he’s in the process of hiring-all backed by a sweeping view of north Brooklyn and the Manhattan skyline. Will you support Next City? Please use the button below to make a donation today.David Carrell, one of the three cofounders of People’s Pops, is standing in his office talking a mile a minute about the four-year-old company’s many irons in the fire-a new Park Slope retail shop, the soon-to-be published cookbook and the brightly colored boxes mocked-up for the company’s upcoming wholesale line. That means for its team to publish stories about solutions to inequality and oppression in cities, they need your support. Time is running out to have your donation matched. If you’ve ever used Next City’s reporting in your work or activism, please consider making a donation. I’m a big fan of Next City and of what they represent in our space - they’re a vital resource and voice. ![]() Will you help Next City fulfill its mission? This year, every dollar toward that goal will be matched by NewsMatch. That’s why I’m proud to serve as a board member.įor Next City to thrive, we need to raise $20,000 by the end of the year. So, you can say that Next City is part of my professional toolbox. And as a civic practitioner and lifelong learner, Next City provides me with the stories that shine light on solutions from near and far to the big, thorny, and systemic challenges that we contend with every day. Over the last decade, I’ve spent nearly every day with Next City. She was also a winner in the 2018 Venture Challenge, a Launch SA competition. The loan structure helps build more credit history for business owners. Shelton was also a recipient of a LiftFund loan, in partnership with the City of San Antonio. “It was not until the Break Fast and Launch program that I felt like I had all the tools necessary to actually launch the business.” “I had worked on my business plan,” Shelton says. They’ve worked with over 115 businesses in the program since 2015. The program was instrumental in launching Alamo Kitchens in 2018. The Break Fast and Launch program is a culinary business accelerator by Launch SA, an entrepreneurship center partnership between the City of San Antonio’s Economic Development Department and LiftFund, one of the largest microfinance nonprofits in the country. The kitchen became a space for me to help educate people about food and how it can be used to heal.”īut Shelton’s vision has the benefit of advanced structure and planning. I wanted to share that learning with other young people and their families. As I took care of my son, I learned that food is medicine. “We learned that they were manifested, in part, based on the food he consumed. “My youngest son was born with several health concerns,” Shelton says. She saw a clear path to that goal with Alamo Kitchens. This was a deeply motivated goal due to her experience with family health. One of her more pressing desires was to foster better food and health in her neighborhood. And, one that tied closely with a desire of my heart.” I saw that many of my food-related businesses were struggling to grow because they did not have a licensed space to prepare their products. “I visited with lots of different businesses, helping them start, pivot, and grow,” she says. Shelton began her endeavor from the mentoring side - she views it as an expansion of her original work as a business coach. Approaching food incubators with a service mentality is an empowering approach. Startup costs comprise the bulk of a new business budget and excess fees tend to negate the savings of a shared kitchen concept. In fact, some even have a fee structure that could be deemed predatory for fledgling food concepts, which are also often minority-owned businesses. While food incubators often serve the space needs of a business, not every commissary-style effort offers any resources beyond that. But she saw they had needs that were not being filled, and she also had a desire to influence more healthy options in her community. Shelton was already motivated to help other businesses succeed in her role as a business coach. Tracie Shelton is the founding force behind Alamo Kitchens, a culinary co-working space in San Antonio, Texas.
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