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Are you ready for a new nonprofit business to support disadvantaged women that sell DELICIOUS snacks, soup and more? Well, look no further than downtown Denver to find the Women’s Bean Project. With a motto of ‘we do not employee women to make products, we sell products to employee women,’ this nonprofit is exceptional at supporting the livelihood of underprivileged women. But what is the exact mission, purpose and execution of this amazing goal?
What is the Women’s Bean Project?
The Women’s Bean Project employees chronically unemployed women (including anyone who identifies as a woman) for an average of nine months before pushing them to apply for a permanent job, university or vocational training.
The unique thing about this organization is that WBP does not simply hand things to the women who are applying, but instead gives them the support and resources they need to excel at having a job. Before employment, the WBP aids their future employees with looking for daycare, finding stable housing, and obtaining food supply and other basic necessities that should be met before expecting someone to show up to work.
Factory area at the Women’s Bean Project by Kendall Ungerman
Then, during their employment, the company provides all women with personal and professional workshops ranging from financial literacy to yoga to self confidence training with the goal to build the confidence of each and every woman. One of the most important aspects of the WBP is giving all these women their confidence back without hiding their past. Every woman has a past, and they guide these women in learning to accept that past and discuss it in the correct way.
In addition, there is also a mentorship program in place so all employees have someone to connect with and look to for constant support. Furthermore, all women are given the opportunity to move up to managerial positions to further enhance their resume.
Overall, the time spent at the WBP is designed to allow these women to regain their lives in a capitalist society despite systematic disadvantages thrown against them, as many women have extreme social disadvantages.
- 100% live below the federal poverty line
- 90% lack saleable job skills
- 80% are women of color
- 80% have felony records
- 80% have history of public assistance
- 80% have history of incarceration, substance abuse and/or domestic violence
- 70% lack stable housing
- 70% are single-HoH
- 65% have no high school diploma or GED
Since there are all these factors stacked against them, the WBP is a place for these women to gain the tools they need to competitively compete in our society. The women are employed only for about nine months so that she can be confident enough to re-enter the workforce while not being too attached to working at the WBP.
Snacks and popcorn by April Vollmer
But what are their products?
They sell a range of food from snacks to soups to popcorn to instant meals to even dog treats. You can find the products at your local Safeway, King Soopers, Trader Joe’s, and Wholefoods or on their online website. They are reasonably priced and taste wonderful. My friends and I have snacked on their products for days.
One of their most famous products is their lentil soup, which we had the opportunity to taste when we took a tour of the facility. They also sell gift boxes and bundles of all sorts, which may be a fun gift idea with meaning for a friend or a family member for a birthday or holiday!