IMBA Alumna Fights Hunger by Reducing Food Waste
After learning that a third of the food we produce gets discarded, Seema Sanghavi (International MBA ’10) felt compelled to act. She teamed up with a few charities to launch Cooks Who Feed with the “mission of feeding the hungry by reducing food waste.”
Using Kickstarter, Sanghavi was able to fund her business and launch her first product – handcrafted aprons. For every apron purchased, her charity partners provide 100 nutritious meals to those in need.
To date, Cooks Who Feed is partnered with three charities: Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, Second Harvest and Feeding India.
“I met many of the women—who I now call my apron artisans—over 3 years ago,” shared Sanghavi. “These women had been trained as seamstresses and I knew I wanted to start a business where I could entrust them with my production. The second reason that led me to create aprons is that I’m a huge foodie. I love to cook, eat and talk food. Given I wanted to create a textile product, the apron just seemed to make perfect sense.”
She credits Schulich for giving her the foundation to start her business. “I have been able to leverage a lot of the skills I gained in my management and marketing classes at Schulich and the networks I gained from being a Schulich alum have been invaluable.”
Sanghavi shared that they are currently designing children aprons and will explore other textiles items, such as napkins and table cloths.
As for the next steps for the company, Sanghavi revealed that they are looking to create partnerships within the hospitality industry with businesses that want to be more socially responsible and their goal for their first year is to provide 500,000 meals.
When you purchase a beautiful, handcrafted Cooks Who Feed apron, remember to wear your “cape” proudly, because you are helping to fight hunger, employ women artisans and reduce waste.
