Foodworks Alliance celebrated its ten-year anniversary last month with an open house held at the facility located at 2725 Pinkerton Ln, Zanesville. Looking back at the past decade, there is so much to celebrate, including helping more than 50 food-related businesses get started, growing relationships with other organizations and partners that have benefited the community, and aiding in the transformation of numerous women who embraced an opportunity to thrive through the Recovery With a Purpose program.
“I’ve only been a part of the organization for two and a half years. So it has not been my doing. There was a lot of doing prior to me getting here, but I get to be the one who celebrates the 10 years,” said Amy Aurore, the Executive Director for Foodworks Alliance. “Our founder was here to celebrate the 10th anniversary, which was nice.”
The 501c3 non-profit organization was founded by Carol Humphreys in 2015. During that time, Humphreys worked as a business coach for the Muskingum County Business Incubator (MCBI). Through her work, Carol met several aspiring businesses that needed a licensed kitchen to work in to take their business to the next step. The building that MCBI was in just happened to have a kitchen, so from there, steps were taken with the help of Bill Huston and Dana Matz, to get the idea for Foodworks Alliance developed into a food hub and commercial kitchen incubator.
Foodworks Alliance still remains in its original location, which is shared with Muskingum Valley Health Centers (MVHC). “It is exactly what we need it to be at this time. Our limitations are that we are a little prevented from growing too much bigger than we are serving right now, so there is a scale issue,” Aurore explained. “Storage is a big thing that we offer our clients, dry, cold, and frozen. Those things have very defined limits, and we’re at them.” Although storage limitations exist, that does not mean anyone has had to be turned away. There just has to be some creative stacking involved to keep things organized. “I love this partnership between MVHC and us. They take care of everything – they are the kindest, most generous landlords that a non-profit can have, added Aurore.”
There has been an increase in interest in people wanting to start their own food-centric businesses in the past few years. “Post Covid I feel like a lot of people realized they have a dream to pursue,” said Aurore. “They have something that they want to create. They want to bring their grandmother’s recipe out into the world.”
In 2015, Foodworks Alliance was created to help small and inspiring food businesses, and that remains one of their main focuses to this day. “So what that looks like is if you want to make pickles and you need somewhere to do it, you are going to give me a call and I’m going to take you through an intake process to see where you are at,” explained Aurore. “Once we get through that intake, I immediately send every single person an invitation to meet with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) because I think that every business should start with some business planning…. Once they are ready, we walk them through getting connected with the Health Department or ODA, whoever it is who needs to oversee what they are doing, and they usually have to set up some sort of inspection. Once they are ready to come do that, I will help them walk them through their first production, even before I sign them up as a member, because I really want to make sure people have all their ducks lined up before I take their check and accept them as a member. … Once they get inspected, they are good to go. We take their membership fee, which is a very nominal $200 a year that gets renewed on their anniversary. With that membership fee, you are invited to book the entire kitchen on an hourly basis. … In addition to renting the kitchen, they also rent storage space.
Current Foodworks Alliance members include: Buckeye Shroomery, Fit Meal Prep, J.Mitchell’s Spices & Sauces, Lapp It Up Kombucha Tea, Ohi:yo Pepper Co., Oliver Farms, Mystic Freeze Dried, Pickl’d Perfect, and Sweet Street.
In recent years, Foodworks Alliance added the Recovery With a Purpose program, making it not only a place for dreamers and innovators but also a place for second chances.
Recovery With a Purpose was created in 2019 and has helped more than 28 people so far. The program was designed in a partnership with Naomi House and Muskingum Behavioral Health to create a workforce development opportunity at Foodworks Alliance, where women who are recovering from addiction can learn essential baking and cooking skills and eventually gain steady employment in the food service industry.
“This place is an opportunity, a new environment, a new chapter,” said Aurore. “It really gives these women an opportunity to radically transform their lives in a single chapter. Like we all know, we have been in these places where we haven’t made great decisions, and it does not have to be that bad. But, if you remove yourself from the environment that you were in when you made those decisions and transplant yourself into an entirely different environment, you are so much more likely to be successful in making that change, and that is what I think we offer people.”
It all starts with a referral and a letter from the applicant’s mental health or behavioral health provider. After getting through the preliminary process and interview, trainees enter into two weeks of virtual training, which includes ServSafe® level 1 coursework (ServSafe® level 1 and level 2 courses are both offered to anyone in the community wishing to get certified). After taking the class, it is time to get real-life, hands-on kitchen experience. Trainees get about 10 to 14 weeks of kitchen experience led by Roselyn Boston, the Kitchen Manager, and a graduate of the Recovery With a Purpose program. At about 6 weeks into the program, trainees meet with Debbie Greiner of Ohio Means Jobs to talk about their resume, any challenges, job history, and more to better prepare them for applying for permanent work.
In addition to Recovery With a Purpose alum Rosalyn joining the Foodworks Alliance team, a 2021 graduate of the program, Victoria Reed-Bebout was hired to fill the Executive Assistant role and has been a huge asset to the organization after completely turning her life around.
“That means that the women who come into this program not only have good role models but two women that have done it,” explained Aurore. “They can look to them and can empathize, and they can really relate to the struggle and the opportunities that these women have when they are going through this stage.”
Because of the state of the economy, where everything is going up in price, there are limits to how many hours Foodworks Alliance can give their three trainees who are currently going through the program. The trainees get paid a nominal hourly wage to help pay for their rent during this time of transition in their lives. The three women in the program right now depend on the help the program provides and can greatly benefit from more hours to make ends meet. Aurore is working to get the funding to allow for more hours, hopefully bringing it up to 16 hours a week for those in the program. While the proposition for an increase in hours is reviewed, the women in the program need immediate action, and that is why Foodworks Alliance is turning to the community for help. Donations are being accepted through this website foodworksalliance.betterworld.org/campaigns/foodworks-alliances-spring-crowd.
“So many things happen during those first six months after rehab,” stated Aurore. “You’ve got to pay all of your fines, you’ve got to work at getting your kids back, you need to get a new place to live, potentially, all of those things are happening during the span of time they are with us. So on the one hand, it’s really amazing to be part of that journey, and on the other hand, I often feel like there is no way we could do enough.”
Through Foodworks Alliance’s initiatives since 2022, 13,298 pounds of food have been saved from going to a landfill, 4,125 pounds of food have been served to the hungry, 1,606 pounds of waste have been composted at a local farm, there have been 180 ServSafe® food manager course and exam students, 26 entrepreneurs and food service clients have benefited from their services, and 28 trainees have gone through the Recovery With a Purpose program.
There are two events that Foodworks Alliance hosts annually to help raise money for the organization. Picklefest will return on July 26, 2025, from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m., and Taste of Muskingum is set for November 5, 2025.
Picklefest is a family-friendly, fun-filled day that is all about pickles! There are food trucks (for pickle lovers and those who are not), a pickleball tournament, vendors, games, a fun run, and a recipe competition. The event will be held at Riverside Park. Pickleball teams will be forming soon, and sponsorship opportunities will be available shortly as well. Be sure to look for more information on the Foodworks Alliance website as we get closer to July.
Taste of Muskingum is a competition where local chefs compete for the title of the best chef of Muskingum County. It will be held at Weatherington Woods in Zanesville. Look for more details on the Foodworks Alliance website closer to the event.
Ten years is a huge milestone for any organization, especially a non-profit like Foodworks Alliance. “It feels like the middle of the book. We still have a long way to go,” stated Aurore.
For further information, be sure to go to the Foodworks Alliance website at foodworksalliance.com and follow them on Facebook. They can also be reached by phone at (740) 280-6805 or by email foodworks.alliance1@gmail.com. To donate to Recovery With a Purpose, please visit foodworksalliance.betterworld.org/campaigns/foodworks-alliances-spring-crowd.
