Ypsilanti nonprofit Growing Hope will kick off a free monthly series on food entrepreneurship, called Stepping Stones to Food Entrepreneurship, on Feb. 19. The hybrid in-person and virtual series will run from 5-7 p.m. on the second or third Wednesday of each month through July. Attendees can participate in person at MarketPlace Hall, 16 S. Washington St. in Ypsi, or virtually via Zoom. 

Growing Hope Incubator Kitchen Manager Deante Bland says Growing Hope Program Manager Dayna Popkey will kick the series off with a session on cottage food law, while other classes will draw knowledge from food entrepreneurs across the state.

"I wanted to put some shine on Ypsilanti but also create some connections," Bland says. He  adds that the series will also feature speakers like Ederique Goudia from the Eastern Market Incubator Kitchen and Ryan Bolhuis of the Grand Rapids Downtown Market Incubator Kitchen.

Monthly topics will include marketing and branding, featuring Erika Tebbens of Taste the Local Difference, and planning and goal-setting, featuring MariAnn Apley of Washtenaw Community College Entrepreneurship Center.

Bland says consumers face a "psychic hurdle when trying a new food or new brand for the first time, and that's where marketing and branding can help."

"I think customers wonder if they should spend money on a product they don't know, especially at a time when people are trying to hold onto their pennies," Bland says. "So we need to learn how to market so people will buy into what we're selling and buy in long-term to our story as we grow."

The series will conclude with a panel discussion called Growing Pains, in which Growing Hope incubator kitchen graduates who have gone on to establish a restaurant or food truck will share what they've learned.

You can find series dates, Zoom information, and other details on the series here.

Sarah Rigg is a freelance writer and editor in Ypsilanti Township and the project manager of On the Ground Ypsilanti. She joined Concentrate as a news writer in early 2017 and is an occasional contributor to other Issue Media Group publications. You may reach her at sarahrigg1@gmail.com.

Photo courtesy of Growing Hope.