I wanted to remind you that the second “GrowRIVERSIDE Community Gathering” is coming up next Thursday, May 7 at Dale’s Senior Center in White Park from 6:00pm – 8:30pm.
Sponsor Woodfire Cafe (a local Riverside food business), which serves up the best Neapolitan-style pizza in the Inland Empire, will be providing pizza for attendees to sample and discussing their desire to source more local ingredients from surrounding farmers.
The event will feature a panel discussion with local Riverside food business owners and presentations by Angela Janus, Founder of ShareKitchen, on how the company’s incubator program works to help value-added local food businesses grow and thrive in Riverside, and Nick Melquiades of the Riverside Food Co-op, who will discuss how the group works with the community and provides new market access for local farmers.
- Angela Janus – Angela is the Executive Director and Founder of ShareKitchen, a Non-Profit Kitchen Incubator program located in the Coachella Valley cities of Cathedral City and Coachella. ShareKitchen provides business development and support services to culinary entrepreneurs including access to a fully licensed and insured shared commercial kitchen.
- Jesse Casillas – Jesse is the owner and founder of Woodfire Cafe, which offers the finest quality Neapolitan style pizzas in the Inland Empire.
- Laurie Goalen-Anderson – Laurie is the Founder of Etta Mae Gourmet, a home-based business (officially known as a “cottage food operation”) located in Downtown Riverside, California. She specializes in making homemade jams & preserves using seasonal, locally grown fruits. Laurie has produced several “award-winning” jams and preserves several of which placed at the 2014 California State Fair, including a 1st place for Tropical Citrus Jam.
- Nick Melquiades – Nick is a member of the Riverside Food Co-op’s CORE (Community of Outstanding and Resourceful Entrepreneurs) Team. Formed in 2012, the Riverside Food Co-op (RFC) has eventual plans to open a store. The RFC has been incorporated for the past year, and although it does not yet operate a store, it currently offers Crop Boxes to members.
- Curtis Cruz – Curtis is founder of My Goodness, a local cottage food organization in the City of Riverside dedicated to producing high quality artisan breads.
http://growriversidegathering.eventbrite.com