Purchase of farm-to-jar food company aims to boost East Cleveland economy, Black entrepreneurship
Ismail Samad is a chef, food systems expert, and local food advocate with projects in Vermont and Boston. But he first noticed food access inequities when he was just a kid growing up in East Cleveland.
Now, his one-year-old nonprofit business incubator Loiter East Cleveland is buying Wake Robin Fermented Foods, and he is hoping to transform the decade-old company into a tool to help urban farmers and entrepreneurs in East Cleveland thrive.
Wake Robin Fermented Foods is a farm-to-jar company that ferments vegetables and turns them into products like kimchi, pickles, and curry cauliflower to promote healthy and tasty eating. They source their vegetables from local family farms around Northeast Ohio.