Place to grow food startups

A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: Hope & Main founder and President Lisa Raiola, right, thought a market existed to help incubate food businesses, and she seems to be right. With her, from left, are Hope & Main Director of Events and Market Manager Ali Montagnon, and Executive Director of Operations Luca Carnevale. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: Hope & Main founder and President Lisa Raiola, right, thought a market existed to help incubate food businesses, and she seems to be right. With her, from left, are Hope & Main Director of Events and Market Manager Ali Montagnon, and Executive Director of Operations Luca Carnevale. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

NONPROFITS

HOPE & MAIN, Rhode Island’s first food-business incubator, is a “center of gravity” for local food, said Lisa Raiola, founder and president.

Believing that homegrown food processing and related businesses could prosper with access to appropriate resources during their startup and incubation stages, she launched Hope & Main, which offers industry-specific assistance and leases code-compliant space at reasonable rates to budding entrepreneurs.

“We now have three commercial kitchens – including one gluten-free – storage, classrooms, event space and offices,” said Raiola. “Demand is so great that we are building out a fourth kitchen … funded with a grant from Commerce RI.”

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Since opening the facility in October 2014, Hope & Main has demonstrably contributed to the state’s food sector. Eighty-six food processing or food-service startups have leased space and received technical assistance and mentoring; two companies have graduated to larger space; 66 licensed businesses work in the kitchens and sell their products; and 18 use the kitchens and technical support, said Raiola. Additionally, 42 businesses have been accepted into the program but haven’t begun using the facilities yet, and 70 prospective businesses are in the application process pipeline.

Operating on a 24/7 basis since its inception, the young nonprofit is experiencing steady growth.

“We’ve more than doubled our year-over-year rental hours per month – from 611 rental hours in July 2015 to 1,331 in July 2016,” said Raiola. “Revenue from the core services we provide … has grown by 197 percent.”

Ranked in the top 10 percent of the nation’s food-business incubators by the American Communities Trust, Hope & Main created 81 jobs and generated $1.8 million for the Rhode Island economy in its first full year of operation. With an annual $600,000 budget and the equivalent of six full-time employees, Hope & Main invites “all of Rhode Island to our table,” said Raiola, with “Meet Your Maker” markets, “Schoolyard Markets,” cooking demonstrations, classes and workshops. “We provide the community … access to locally sourced and produced food.” •

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