Name: Hope & Main Schoolyard Twilight Party 2026
Start: 2026-08-29T17:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-08-29T21:00:00-04:00
Location: Hope & Main

Current news releases—Eat Drink RI is not the source for these items, though I will add I’m a huge fan of Hope & Main and was proud to have several of these first incubuses sample their product at the Eat Drink RI Festival in April, and I’m a member of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council—please follow any links for more information.

Hope & Main Food Business Incubator Announces Inaugural Cohort

More than 30 food entrepreneurs will launch culinary businesses this month as members of the state’s first food business incubator program

Hope & Main, a forward-thinking, non-profit food business incubator designed to support the local food system and to strengthen the region’s economy, today introduced its inaugural group of members, a cohort of more than 30 culinary entrepreneurs who will be growing early-stage food startups and other food-related businesses from the organization’s headquarters in Warren, Rhode Island. The companies will begin full production at Hope & Main’s newly renovated facility in September 2014.

The many resources offered by Hope & Main’s incubator program, coupled with the fact that the organization does not receive equity in its members’ companies, prompted a flood of applications from entrepreneurs seeking to jump-start food ventures. Members hail from across Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and include specialty food product makers, catering companies, food trucks, farmers, personal chefs and nutritionists.

Hope & Main will hold a Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting event on October 3 to celebrate the opening of the newly-renovated facility, largely financed through a USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Loan, and to introduce the public to the inaugural cohort of member companies.

As the state’s first food business incubator, Hope & Main’s nonprofit incubator program gives food startups the chance to grow in their first two to three years without the cost of equipping their own commercial facilities. Members benefit from extensive mentoring, access to fully equipped and affordable workspace, and immersion in an entrepreneurial environment where they can collaborate with industry experts and peers. Hope & Main’s aim is to create a community of support for food entrepreneurs and to serve as a springboard for the launch and growth of new culinary enterprises.

Hope & Main is great example the new ‘sharing economy’ where small producers can access an extensive platform of resources that not only reduce expense and exposure to risk but also increase the chance for success,” says Lisa Raiola, founder and president of Hope & Main. “It has given these fledgling entrepreneurs the opportunity to think big even as they start small. It is their promise and enthusiasm that has brought us to this milestone.”

The inaugural cohort of entrepreneurs and their food-related startups are:

Acacia Food Truck & Kitchen
Member: Dawn Brooks-Rapp
www.acaciacafe.com
twitter.com/AcaciaFoodTruck

Agraria Edibles
Member: Barbara Link
www.agrariafarm.com
facebook.com/AgrariaFarm

Allie’s Genuine Goodness
Member: Elizabeth Alvarez
www.alliesgenuinegoodness.com

Anavila Bakehouse
Member: Margie Aitkenhead

The Backyard Food Company – CURRENTLY RUNNING A KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN
Members: Matthew McClelland and Loubnen Sukkar
www.thebackyardfoodcompany.com
twitter.com/BackyardFoodCo

Bella Piccolina
Member: Daniela Mansella
www.bellapiccolina.com
twitter.com/dmansella
facebook.com/daniela.mansella

Biggest Little Popcorn Company
Member: Roselette W. DeWitt
www.biggestlittlepopcorncompany.com
twitter.com/biggestlilpopc
facebook.com/biggestlittlepopcorncompany

The CupCake Contessas
Members: Marylee Dixon and Karianne Polak
twitter.com/TheCupcakeConte
facebook.com/TheCupCAKEContessas

Dough
Member: Helena Sheusi
www.doughtreats.com
facebook.com/doughtreats

Essentially Coconut
Member: Sophia Gartland
www.essentiallycoconut.com
twitter.com/essentiallycoco
facebook.com/essentiallycoconut

Fox Point Pickling Company
Member: Ziggy Goldfarb
www.foxpointpickles.com
twitter.com/FoxPointPickles
facebook.com/FoxPointPicklingCo

Great Gaines Foods
Member: Judy Venter-Gaines
www.greatgainesfoods.com
twitter.com/greatgainesfood
facebook.com/GreatGainesFoods

Griffith Gardens
Member: Bryan Sirois
facebook.com/GriffithGardens

Halsey & Bowen Peanut Sauce
Member: Morgan Hollenbeck

HOLLISTER Tamales
Members: Charles and Kaari Groscup
www.HOLLISTERTamales.com
facebook.com/HollisterTamales

Laughing Gull Chocolates
Lindsay Tarnoff
www.laughinggullri.com
twitter.com/laughinggullri
facebook.com/LaughingGullRI

Lori’s Primo Granola
Member: Lori Vartanian
www.primogranola.com

Matt’s Magic Brownies
Member: Matt D’Alessio
www.mattsmagicbrownies.com
twitter.com/MattsMagicBrwne
facebook.com/MattsMagicBrownies

Mima’s Gluten-Free & Nut-Free
Members: Lois Mahoney and Betsy Shealy
www.mimasglutenfree.com
twitter.com/mimasgf
facebook.com/mimasgf

My Lil’ Chefs
Members: Jack Achenbach and Casey Paige
www.mylilchefswebsite.com
twitter.com/MyLilChefs

New England Syrup & Tonic
Members: Candace and Chris Clavin

New Urban Farmers
Members: Bleu Grijalva and Emily Jodka
www.newurbanfarmers.org

Nutritionally Sound
Member: Meg O’Rourke RD-LDN
www.harmonywithfood.com

Ocean State Smoked Fish Company
Member: Jeffrey Powell
facebook.com/OceanStateSmokedFishCompany

Pies by Moira
Member: Moira Walker
facebook.com/piesbymoira1

Spicy Penguin
Member: David Peligian
www.thespicypenguin.com
twitter.com/SpicyPenguinPVD
facebook.com/thespicypenguin

Tito’s Cantina
Member: Richard Reavis
www.titos.com
facebook.com/titoscantina

Uncle Truscott’s Classic American Confections
Member: Peter Kelly

Members of the RI Food Policy Council tour Hope & Main

The Rhode Island Food Policy Council is seeking new Council Members for the 2015 term.

New members will be elected at the December 2014 Annual Meeting.

Nomination Forms due on September 30th.

Who Should Be Nominated?

The Council seeks qualified candidates, from diverse sectors of the Rhode Island food system, who are committed to and interested in food systems change.

The membership selection process strives to achieve racial, socioeconomic, ethnic and geographic diversity.

What’s Involved?

Responsibilities of Council members include:

Create new and innovative ideas and plans for the Rhode Island food system
Monitor and promote the Rhode Island food system across multiple sectors
Help to maintain direction, purposes & goals, functions and responsibilities of the RIFPC

Detailed info on Council duties can be found on our website.

How Do I Find Out More?

If you have specific questions about Council roles and responsibilities, please contact RIFPC Vice-Chair Krystal Noiseux.

If you are a part of (or know of!) a community organization that might benefit from hearing more about RIFPC in general -who we are, what we do, and how community members can get involved with us – please let Krystal know and she’d be happy to reach out to them as Chair of our Governance Committee.

Bleu Grijalva watering the plants inside one of New Urban Farmers' geodesic domes — Bleu Grijalva watering the plants inside one of New Urban Farmers’ geodesic domes

While walking me through one of the geodesic dome greenhouses at New Urban Farmers in Pawtucket, Bleu Grijalva stopped to look at a stray tomato plant that was growing up the side of a table. “Sometimes when we accidentally drop a seed on the ground, it will grow on its own,” Grijalva said. “I like to let them grow there. It serves as a good reminder that no matter how many hours and sweat we put into growing food and making perfect rows of plants, the food wants to grow on it’s own, and maybe that’s what we need to do sometimes—just go with the flow. Grow where we fall.” That is just one of the life lessons that can be pulled from farm work, and the team at New Urban Farmers have found the perfect audience for these lessons.

Originally started with the intention of becoming a local farm and community garden, the small plot of land situated behind a housing project near the Pawtucket/Central Falls border, has evolved into a “living classroom” for the 500+ children who live here. While the responsibility of watching over children can certainly add to the farm work—especially when they’re being mischievous, as all children are—it’s nothing short of inspiring to see that there is a group of people here to provide these kids with some guidance and structure that they may not have at home. It’s even more inspiring to see that these kids, who could be on the couch watching television or on the streets getting into some very negative situations, are choosing to come to the farm instead.

Emily Jodka, New Urban Farmers co-founder, with some of the neighborhood children

Closing in on their five-year anniversary, New Urban Farmers now has four locations throughout Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts, all utilizing sustainable growing techniques. When Grijalva walked us past a table with growing plants, one of the kids with us grabbed a fistful of fish food and threw it under the table into a tank of water. Immediately, as the pebbles of food touched the surface of the water, the tank erupted into a tumult of frenzied fish, all racing to grab the first bits. “This is our aquaponics system. It holds over one thousand tilapia,” said Grijalva. Aquaponics is a mix of aquaculture and hydroponics, in which the waste from a fish tank is converted to nitrates by bacteria and is used to feed plants. The plants clean the water, which is then cycled back into the fish tank, creating a sustainable fish farm and vegetable garden.

Along one of the edges of the fenced-in farm, is a row of community garden plots. Although there were some less-than-perfect looking garden plots, it was obvious that some of the gardeners had developed green thumbs, and were learning to grow everything from flowers to vegetables. While they sell most of the plots, they also give some to the older residents in the housing project who are interested in gardening. “We provide then with the seeds and the know-how,” said Grijalva. “It’s really nice to see that some of these people who might not have jobs, or a whole lot of accomplishments, now have something to be proud of. But we’re still looking to find that perfect balance between doing good in the community and making enough money to keep doing good.”

Although the farm has become a classroom for so many, there is no set curriculum. Grijalva emphasized that as we finished our tour. “There are no textbooks here,” he said as he took a bite of a fresh tomato, just picked from another stray plant growing out of a pile of fertilizer. “We just try to teach the kids whatever lessons can be taken from what’s happening in the garden.”

Scroll down for more photos from New Urban Farmers.