The Idea
In 2008 Tubman purchased Harriet Tubman Center East in Maplewood from the Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery. The 110,000-square-foot mid-century modern building meets Tubman’s needs for domestic violence shelter and youth housing, four floors of other program space, and a large commercial kitchen (7,638 square feet) that’s been dormant since Tubman acquired the building.
Tubman engaged Food Works Group to create a feasibility study to determine if there is a community need for the unused kitchen space. After hosting focus groups with shelter residents, as well as youth and adult program participants from other Tubman services, we learned there is a strong connection between entrepreneurship and creating financial independence with people escaping violent relationships. We also engaged stakeholders from the local food ecosystem to help us think about how we could best use this space. Based on community input, we are proud to launch the Tubman Food Innovation Center, a new social enterprise for Tubman.
The Why
The creation of the Tubman Food Innovation Center (TFIC) is a direct result of engaging people who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), and women to answer two of the most pressing needs in our local food ecosystem:
- the need for hot, ready-to-eat meals for people experiencing homelessness
- and the need for small-and mid-size contract manufacturing (co-man) to scale regional food businesses
By offering unique services and a co-man facility that prioritizes our region’s most under-resourced food entrepreneurs, many who identify as BIPOC and women selling consumer packaged goods and food service products, TFIC will create growth opportunities that are only attainable with a co-man solution at the ready. While TFIC would be groundbreaking for our region, it could also serve as a national model for seismic change in the emerging food business ecosphere, regional food retail, and farm-to-institutional food service across the country.
The Tubman Food Innovation Center will be a critical part of Tubman’s financial sustainability and growth. As a social enterprise, TFIC will provide earned income to support Tubman’s mission and programs, which is essential new revenue in light of decreased government funding and increased costs to provide services.
“Building a cookie business gave me the ability to create financial independence after leaving an abusive relationship."
-Junita Flowers, founder of Junita’s Jar and former Tubman board member
The How
TFIC is a collaboration between Tubman, Food Ops, 4 Access Partners (4AP), and Involve MN, that leverages the strengths and expertise of food production, food entrepreneurship and business support services, food access, and social justice to activate a food production facility unlike any in the United States.
TFIC business plan is modeled to be cash positive in its first year, and increase in profit as forecast for seven years. We are in the process of raising $4.54M to transform the space. To build a comparable facility from scratch would cost approximately $20M, nearly five times that of renovating the existing space.
We are seeking funding for this critical project. Please contact Dana Nelson, Social Enterprise Fund Director at dnelson@tubman.org.
