Those who get into the profession of business know very well that a business is the perfect outlet for passion and creativity. While the products and services can positively contribute to the customers’ lives, the company can be a wonderful channel for championing a cause as well. By using their brand, website, and social media channels as a platform to make an impact, they get more than any bank account can hold by making other people’s lives better. Not just companies, individuals who contribute to a cause can also experience a personal sense of fulfilment that enlightens them. You may be unsure how to go about supporting a cause, but these four food businesses will surely inspire you.
4 Food Businesses That Are Mindfully Giving Back to the Community
1. Namak by Jasleen Marwah
Namak Swaad Anusaar is a food venture started by Jasleen Marwah, a media professional who recently turned into a home chef. Born and raised in Srinagar, Kashmir, Jasleen expresses her passion and creativity for Kashmiri food through your culinary delicacies. She beautifully fills the gap for authentic Kashmiri food in Mumbai with recipes that have been relished across generations.
When it comes to giving back to the community, Jasleen starts at the grassroots level, “I try and do minimal wastage in terms of the amount of food that we are cooking. Leftovers we try and distribute to the less fortunate. We’re big followers of conscious cooking, using eco-friendly products, paying our staff well and taking good care of them.”
2. Two Brothers Organic Farms
A popular direct-to-consumer brand in India, Two Brothers Organic Farms was begun by co-founders Satyajit Hange and Ajinkya Hange as a way to revive their own passion for organic farming and slow living but also to provide consumers with cleaner produce, grown with healthier soil and water. Their primary aim is to preserve biodiversity through mindful farming methods.
Speaking to ThinkRight.me, Two Brothers Organic Farms shared how the business gives back to the community. “Our fellow Farmer Siddhesh and his NGO committed to Regenerative Farming, native to Shirur, Pune, Maharashtra, have been reviving the Ancient Farming System ‘Baradhanya’, meaning 12 different crops. Siddhesh has dedicated his life to relieving Native Desi Millets and the farmers of Maharashtra from the vicious circle of chemical farming, poverty, debt and lack of opportunities. We are proud to collaborate with Native Araku Coffee (NAC), they work closely with the Adivasis around the dense forests of the Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh. It was when we visited the valley and discovered the cherry-to-cup journey of coffee that we decided to partner with NAC to co-create avenues for exceptional Organic Coffee grown by the tribal farmers of the Valley. The Coffee beans have been custom roasted and bagged by NAC for TBOF.”
3. NOTO
NOTO, a dessert brand that started in 2018, features an array of dessert options like ice creams, popsicles, sweets, and other variations, is redefining how India consumes sweets but offering a healthy variant. Driven by classic flavours but with ingredients that offer a delicious dose of health, NOTO offers guilt-free options that cater to fitness-conscious and dessert lovers alike.
On how they give back to the community, co-founder and director Ashni Shah says, “We’re still extremely small as a brand and would love to do a lot more in terms of giving back to the community. Currently what we’re trying to do is to give hope to people who are unable to or have to cut down on desserts due to multiple factors. Sometimes life’s real joy is in that extra scoop or that piece of brownie, and we shouldn’t have to give up just yet. In fact, NOTO was started because of this very reason as our founder, Varun was on a weight loss and fitness journey. He had to alter his diet but couldn’t let go of sweets. All the so-called healthy dessert options available were inedible. Thus, after months of research, Varun, who is also a chef, decided to create something that was not only healthy but delicious. Spreading happiness through desserts is our way of giving back.”
4. Bombay Sweet Shop
Bombay Sweet Shop, started by the same guys who brought you the progressive Bombay Canteen and O Pedro, offers an eccentric yet nostalgic treat of flavours. Their crowd-favourite delicacies made with Indian household ingredients include Chai Biscuit Choco Barks featuring Parle-G, Chilli Cheese Bhujia, Bombay Bhel Chikki, Chocolate Butterscotch Barks, and much more.
Bombay Sweet Shop gives back to the community through multiple activities. Some examples include:
Box of Hope by Bombay Sweet Shop
HOPE is a funny thing sometimes. It finds a way to stream through each of us and stay strong despite everything.
In the year 2020 – when Bombay was at its lowest when the days and nights became one and life came to a pause, we saw hundreds of people come through for each other – and this kept our hope alive. The maushi who stayed with your grandparents, your local kaka who delivered groceries right to your doorstep, a doctor who made the time to check in on you, mothers who were always a phone call away, or the neighbour who offered help even before you asked. There was someone in our lives who was OUR hero, someone who kept us going, someone who kept the spirit of Bombay alive!
At the start of 2021, we at Bombay Sweet Shop wanted to carry forward the hope we rediscovered in 2020 with our Box of Hope – we helped people thank their hero, whoever they might be, by sending them a box of sweets from our side with a beautiful limited-edition packaging because what better way is there to say thank you than with sweets. We sent 1000 assorted mithai boxes to these heroes.
Sweet Freedom Box from Bombay Sweet Shop
In August 2022, we celebrated Independence Day for a cause and made a difference with Mithai! Bombay Sweet Shop introduced the Sweet Freedom Box with an assorted box of 9 mithais. Proceeds from every box ordered helped the Naandi Foundation.
Since 2019, our sister restaurant The Bombay Canteen and the Naandi Foundation, a social sector organisation, have joined hands to support farmers of Cheduputtu village in Araku, Andhra Pradesh, to take steps towards restoring the health of the soil on their farmland. All proceeds from every box of mithai ordered, helped us sweeten the lives of the farmers of Cheduputtu! Proceeds went towards soil nourishment and restoration which lead to crop diversity and better livelihood for the farmer families.
At the heart of each of these brands are important causes, some community-based and some very close to their heart. And while providing quality products is their job, they’ve also consciously chosen to make it their mission to make a difference in their communities. Kudos to them!
Read More: The Right Way of Eating A Traditional Onasadhya Meal
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