Show Notes:
Michele Liddle, owner of Perfect Granola, is an entrepreneur who has a mission to end hunger and give people opportunities to get out of the cycle of poverty. Every year, her company is able to donate 5% of profits, and thousands of pounds of granola, to homeless shelters, outreach centers, and food banks nationwide. Today Michele speaks with Christine about her past volunteer experience, where she noticed a lack of healthy food pantry options, as well as allergy-free options, and how that inspired her to launch her company in 2016. Michele talks about using her own kitchen to develop recipes with her family, how she found nationwide distribution for her products, and her current top seller.
Michele discusses the high poverty rates in Rochester, NY, and her mission to create systemic change in the fight against hunger. She tells Christine about her partnerships with the Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection in Rochester, as well as House of Mercy, Food Link, and Pepsico’s ‘Food For Good’ Initiative. She explains the importance of school nutrition, and shares the most touching story of someone she has helped. Michele encourages entrepreneurs to stay the course with their Give Back mission, and tells Christine what’s next for Perfect Granola as they continue to grow and raise awareness for food insecurity. To learn more about Perfect Granola and the important work they are doing, please visit them on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PerfectGranola.
For more information, and other episodes on companies and entrepreneurs who give back, please visit www.TheGiveBackModel.com. That’s where you can also let Christine know about companies you’ve found that give back. Thanks for listening!
Episode Highlights:
- Michele’s volunteer experience and her mission to provide healthier, allergy-free options to food pantries
- Choosing granola as the first product to launch into the market
- Using her home kitchen to develop recipes, and being able to accommodate soy-free and gluten-free requirements
- Making recipes as a family and having her kids as taste testers
- Top seller is currently Maple Pecan Date
- Distribution as the largest hurdle in starting her business
- Finding retailers first to gauge interest before developing the product
- Rochester’s poverty rate of 32% (double the national average) and low graduation rates
- Michele’s work with the Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection to encourage at-risk youth to graduate high school
- Partnerships with House of Mercy and Food Link in Rochester
- Mission to create systemic change in the fight against poverty and hunger
- How to raise awareness, stay informed, and get involved
- Working with Pepsico ‘Food For Good’ Initiative to make sure children and families have access to food throughout the year
- Protocols to keep recipes completely allergen-free
- Her plans to continue growing Perfect Granola and giving back to homeless shelters, outreach centers, and food banks
- The importance of school nutrition
- Her advice for entrepreneurs whose heart is with the cause - never let your mission take a back seat
Quotes:
“We really wanted to make sure that healthy products were getting on the shelf of the food pantries. Because I was volunteering at our local food pantry, I noticed that there was a lack of healthy food and also a lack of allergy-friendly foods.”
“[Granola] was our first product to launch into the market with the whole expectation that this would become a staple on the food pantry shelf, and then we could hire the people walking into the food pantries, and give them
You Might Like
