Dreaming Out Loud DREAM Program 2020 Cohort and Alumni

Dreaming Out Louds’ DREAM Program Graduates 13 Food Entrepreneurs

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, November 3, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- November 3, 2020 - As the DC small and local restaurants wrestle with the pandemic - permanent closures and partial openings - Dreaming Out Loud moved forward with their DREAM program for black food entrepreneurs, graduating 13 startup small businesses this past September. Not only did this cohort spend 16 weeks virtually during April - July 2020, the DREAM 2020 cohort, along with alumni, but also prepared and served meals to over 44,000 District of Columbia residents suffering during COVID-19 under Chef Jose Andres of World Central Kitchen.

"Dreaming Out Loud called and the DREAM team answered the call. Our DREAM Program alumni started churning out fresh, delicious meals for the COVID-19 relief effort. Seniors and homebound residents were getting Taylored Tastes' chicken garlic noodles, Green Things Work curry chickpea quinoa salad with carrot ribbons with District Chop Bar’s African Diasporic Cuisine, and Pinkey’s EATS mouthwatering soul food. We have never felt so grateful for our community and so proud of what we have built together. Our team advocates for black food makers to be a part of the recovery because there is no recovery without them. World Central Kitchen believed us and is helping make an equitable recovery possible." Nadine Joyner-DREAM Program/Culinary Manager

The 2020 DREAM Program was funded by the DC Department of Housing and Community Development in partnership with Think Local First DC . The DREAM Food Business Incubator focuses on food business training courses and incubators designed to help aspiring food entrepreneurs from under-resourced communities in Washington, DC (primarily in Wards 7 and 8) access resources and support for success. In working with local farmers and food business owners, Dreaming Out Loud knows that several of the challenges faced by aspiring food entrepreneurs include difficulty securing mentorship and peer support, managing business operation systems, affording formal culinary training, and gaining experience with using commercial kitchen equipment,
as well as accessing revenue-generating opportunities. DREAM addresses each of these needs both during the course and for years afterward.

2020 DREAM Graduates: Msquared Cakes and Catering - Shawnta Maddox, Tree of Life Vegan Cuisine-Anne Volel, Cosmic Chaos Fruit Juices- Monica Previl, Personal Touch Salads & Café LLC - Essie Graeber, Vickey's Trinidad, and Tobago Kitchen - Michelle Phipps-Evans, Heal Tea LLC- Rah' Mad Hawkins, Colors A Creole Cookery- Patricia Artayet, Damian's Love Greens- Damian Simms, Craving Flavors Catering- Michael Ransome, Pies On The Side- Ijeoma Obidegwu, JVG Life Mixers LLC- Joseph and Velvet Grimshaw, Pastiche Sweets-Yanelle Smith, and BaleFire Farm & Catering - Brandi Edmond.

Dreaming Out Loud s’ DREAM Program is a mission-driven food hub that incubates aspiring food entrepreneurs from marginalized communities in Washington, DC to launch their small business ideas off the page. The 2021 DREAM Program starts again in April 2021, with the application portal opening in January 2021. www.dreamingoutloud.org

Michele B. Morgan
Dreaming Out Loud
+1 202.800.2612
michele@dreamingoutloud.org
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