Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/999236
March/April 2018 41 is achieved by building awareness, reputation, connections and a brand, and by creating a rewarding work environment that enables everyone, from management to frontline employees, to become an active participant in building their community while doing business. Strengthening the Foundations of Your Community Schools, charities and churches are the foundation of every community, and they all face a common challenge— the lack of funding, resources and expertise needed to fully complete their mission. Recognizing this need, Israel saw an opportunity to work with local educators. "We met with the local school principals and found some that were looking to build a food club that would help students learn how to cook and what to eat," he says. "en, we reached out to groups that helped disadvantaged and senior citizens. We offer our facilities and culinary center as a place to meet, see our garden and use our equipment." After years of decline, Detroit is rebuilding its wrecked economy and community, and Great Lakes Hotel Supply offers a new venue to host fundraisers for public schools and other organizations, often at no charge. "e hardest part for us is finding the time to reach and work with organizations that can benefit from our facilities" says Israel. "Schools are a natural fit, but security concerns add a layer of coordination, approvals and parental consent." In my conversations with other distributors, I've found that momentum builds over time. As the word gets out about community support provided by a distributor, organizations reach out on their own, and the distributor's reputation and brand are strengthened. Supporting the Community's Need for Skilled Workers In my hometown in Colorado, and many more across the country, open positions for skilled workers go unfilled for lack of interested and qualified applicants. Often, these positions are jobs that are collectively referred to as the trades—carpenters, welders, mechanics, plumbers and electricians. Similarly, jobs that involve working directly with customers in restaurants, coffee shops, and hospitality-focused businesses are filled with people that are untrained and temporarily working for their current employer until something better comes along. Foodservice equipment and supplies distributors and manufacturers should pay attention because these workers are employed by their customers. Recognizing his community's needs, Israel is considering a novel idea that directly addresses his company's ability to make an important contribution in Detroit and, perhaps, across the restaurant industry. "We see an explosion of independent restaurants and their difficulty in finding trained staff," says Israel. "So, we are considering starting a trade school that will help provide trained servers—people that know how to serve a customer without putting a thumbprint on a place, how to work around a table to take orders and then serve the right meal to the right customer. Our trade school would provide operators with employees who see serving as something they enjoy and can take pride in." In my own community, I have been looking to find volunteer or pro-bono opportunities that can leverage my experience and help strengthen our economy. I have found that small businesses, including contractors and restaurants, worry a great deal about being able to hire the right people to serve their customers, even though they can offer work that is rewarding— both in terms of the experience and compensation. Israel's idea, and others that might be offered by distributors, would strengthen community ties and provide a valued service to customers in the value chain. Large companies with well-staffed human resource departments are skilled recruiters and can turn their ability to maintain a quality workforce into a competitive advantage. Smaller businesses lack the necessary scale to attract and hire workers, and ideas like Israel's can help level the playing field, strengthening business relationships and sourcing preferences among the important segment of small- and medium-sized companies. Driving Economic Development Distributors are an overlooked resource for communities that are WHEN GREAT LAKES OWNER MARC ISRAEL DECIDED TO INCLUDE AN ORGANIC GARDEN IN THE BACK OF THE GREAT LAKES CULINARY CENTER, SERVING THE COMMUNITY WAS TOP OF MIND. "WE BRING UNDERPRIVILEGED KIDS HERE AND LET THEM SPEND TIME WITH THE GARDENER," HE SAYS."THEY PICK VEGETABLES TO MAKE THEIR OWN SALADS AND THEN OUR EXECUTIVE CHEF TAKES THEM INTO THE KITCHEN AND HELPS THEM PREPARE LUNCH."