Dear Hot Bread Kitchen Community,
At the end of an unprecedented year, we find ourselves in a historic moment that has made clear what we’ve always known: women of color are the backbone of our democracy, our economy, and our communities. As essential workers in food, healthcare, and childcare; as mothers, grandmas, sisters, and aunties; and as voters, women of color represent a powerful coalition of changemakers, woven together by incredible dedication, diversity, and perseverance. And we’re committed to creating #RecipesForResilience that will help them find prosperity in 2021 and beyond.
Meet Fauzia Abdur-Rahman and her daughter, Fauzia Aminah Rasheed, breadwinners who run Fauzia’s Heavenly Delights: a beloved Jamaican fusion food cart in upper Manhattan. These talented, driven entrepreneurs embody the incredible hustle and dedication this country demands of women and people of color in pursuit of economic opportunity—and their jerk chicken is a legendary local treasure. The cart has maintained a bustling line of lunchtime regulars for over 25 years… until this year.
In March, the family’s income completely dried up when COVID-19 brought customer traffic to a screeching halt, as it did for so many small, immigrant-owned businesses. But thanks to Hot Bread Kitchen’s programming and hundreds of supporters like you, the mother-daughter duo were able to develop new income streams to sustain their family, including selling their coveted jerk sauce online.
This is resilience. Resilience is what empowers women and people of color to reroute and recover from a collective crisis, which puts their livelihoods at particular risk. Growth requires grit, creativity, and drive, but resilience requires resources and structural support. Will you join us?
Our breadwinners are all facing their own fights against institutional racism, sexism, and other inequities that put roadblocks in their paths to economic prosperity, especially in tenuous times like these.
In response, we have offered advising, regular office hours, and webinars to support family- and immigrant-owned businesses like Fauzia’s stay afloat and on target to achieve their goals, and we have created hotlines and online resources to answer workers’ questions on everything from childcare to unemployment benefits.
“Optimistic is definitely the word that comes to mind when thinking about the future of Fauzia’s Heavenly Delights. The sense of helplessness we felt during the first couple months of the pandemic has transformed into optimism about the growth of our business with Hot Bread Kitchen’s continued support.”
Fauzia Abdur-Rahman, Fauzia’s Heavenly Delights
We have adapted our programming to do whatever it takes to stay steadfast in our mission to invest in breadwinners, offering access to economic opportunity now, in 2021, and beyond. When we invest in talents and dreams, we invest in resilience—progress towards prosperity that lasts.
If you are able to, please join me in investing in women like Fauzia, so they can continue to build and maintain a legacy of prosperity. With your contributions, we can move toward a more resilient future, together.
Shaolee Sen
CEO, Hot Bread Kitchen
