Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/523050
F ounded in 1994, Friends of Detroit & Tri Counties is a nonprofit organization working to help revitalize the Hope District in Detroit. The group started making potato chips for serving in its com- munity soup kitchen. "We started making potato chips in 2011 from potatoes we grew on our nearby urban farm," explains Michael Wimberley, the executive director of Friends of Detroit & Tri Counties and the founder of Detroit Friends Potato Chips. "We had been looking for a food product to make and a friend of ours who is in the food retail business suggested potato chips." The community consumed too much and produced too little, Wimberley says, and they hoped the potato chips would help change that pattern. PHOTOS: INDIVIDUAL PRODUCERS BY DENISE PURCELL AND SUSAN SEGREST Patrick Ford Ford's Gourmet Foods Natalie King Stonewall Kitchen Seth Novick Kitchen Table Bakers This young specialty food company seeks industry advice on hiring family members, recruiting workers, and prioritizing goals. THE PANEL THE STARTUP Detroit Friends Potato Chips friendsofdetroit.org/friends-potato-chips Founder: Michael Wimberley Products: Detroit Friends Potato Chips Launched: 2014 as a for-profit spinoff of a nonprofit community organization Friends of Detroit & Tri Counties Location: Detroit Employees: 4 startup spotlight Detroit Friends Potato Chips 136 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com PHOTOS: DETROIT FRIENDS POTATO CHIPS