March 2022: The first Pop-up Community Kitchen for the participants of Girls Got This Works: Resiliency in Action (GGTW:RIA) was set up at Sambag 1, Cebu City on May 6, 2022. FundLife, in partnership with The Green Pantry, launched a micro-entrepreneurship and livelihood program which aims to upskill and provide dignified employment for the girls and women of Sambag 1.
This social enterprise development track includes an 8-week training program where the participants are taught everything they need to know about running their own food business: from food preparation, inventory, and managing a pop-up kitchen, to actual marketing and selling. The Green Pantry taught the participants how to create healthy, plant-based meals that are affordable and delicious.
© Pop-up Community Kitchen photos from The Cebuano.
The first Pop-up Community Kitchen was the girls' chance to apply all their learnings into practice. They assumed different roles such as cashier, food server, cook, and inventory staff. In the following weeks' Pop-up Community Kitchens, they will exchange roles in order to master the different facets of running their own plant-based kitchen.
The Pop-up Kitchen was sold out by 2:00 PM with a total of 152 meals sold such as Tofu with string beans, Tofu Sisig, Spaghetti, Kaldereta, and Palabok. This comprised both walk-in orders and delivery orders.
At the end of the GGTW:RIA program, at least 4 participants will be given their very own food cart business to launch in their respective communities. Armed with the knowledge and training gathered, FundLife and GGT look forward to seeing them successfully grow their future micro-entrepreneurial businesses.
© Pop-up Community Kitchen photo from The Cebuano.