Keep HOPE & THYME a Zero-Waste Hub!
Donation protected
Dearest Providence community,
It’s with a heavy heart that we share some personal and challenging information about our business.
With the volume of sales we are currently doing, beginning today, Friday, March 8, Hope & Thyme is not able to sustainably meet our whole crew’s minimum financial needs. We have had to put many of our employee's salaries on hold indefinitely without knowing the future of the business. This has been the most difficult news of all, because our main focus as entrepreneurs has been creating places for the community to come together for a service and create quality jobs. To offer someone a space to earn their livelihood, and then have to take it away, has really left us feeling heart-broken.
We are shocked, as we felt in our hearts for sure that the demand was high for this type of service in the neighborhood, and that a restructuring to the former business model that occupied the space towards a package-free model would bring costs low enough to entice customers in to maintain their dietary needs. We deal with the neighborhood's food needs every day at Hudson Street Deli, and we've gained trust and accountability to do so - it felt a natural extension to continue developing ways to enhance the connection that was happening so organically anyway right in the center of this neighborhood. We have been welcomed with open hearts and open arms, and still, we are not selling enough groceries and food to make ends meet.
Volume of sales from customers who build us into their routine will help us keep prices low; otherwise, we will have to mark up goods exponentially to keep the high costs of the space afloat. This isn't what we want to do.
So this is our public rally for a question to be answered: do you want to see our vision of Hope & Thyme as a zero-waste community hub become a reality? If not, then we have misjudged, and we will take steps to figure out what to do next that's not this sustainable, community-building vision. We aren't willing to give up on it that easily though. We need to know for sure that the community has no interest.
The zero waste grocery business is one that relies on a community of people agreeing to shop for their foods in bulk packaging, entrusting knowledgeable stores to do the purveying. Our mission is centered on communal abundance, and therefore we are committed to accessible pricing for healthy wholesome foods; this is possible in package-free and bulk foods, but only if enough people come together to make a lifestyle change together. We know we have a long way to go on educating the public on these choices, and we are willing to take on that responsibility; we also know that this community is resourceful enough to help us bridge the gap, knowing what could be possible if the many community-driven individuals and businesses committed as one unit to a zero waste philosophy.
We want to inspire and help propogate a simple system of jars and reusable vessels could be sold and accepted at the businesses in Providence that are already connecting daily, with a large population of loyal and participatory customers frequenting a network of places. Hope & Thyme has really big goals of enacting change through the linking of local individuals who care about their impact, with the food choices they need to live sustainably. Without the committed individuals who choose to prioritize a connection to themselves, each other, and the place we live, the business does not survive in its current format. Yet we really feel that participating in systems of single-use plastic and convenience-type foods is irresponsible with the current state of the planet - and therefore, feel disconcerted about shifting the business model to one of convenience and impulse because society has trained us to rush our food choices and meals and get back to “productivity”.
We know there is a big learning curve to living zero waste; we are only learning as we go and facing all kinds of challenges moving the business into this philosophy too. A quick service food counter that doesn’t rely on single use packaging? It’s a lot of overhead to set up, and a lot of strategic planning, but easy to maintain and totally possible in a community like ours; if the community participates too.
We have given this project everything of ourselves, and our family, and invested everything we could to make something happen that we really believe this neighborhood is ready for and needs. $70,000 of our own money has been invested so far.
We believe this neighborhood can be an example for small communities everywhere to self organize and trust in the entrepreneurial spirit of a few neighbors to provide the basic services and move us back to the village mentality, while also being conscious of a commitment to preserving our collective resources.
$5,000 will get us through the rest of the month of March, allowing us to catch up on payroll and stay current on inventory costs. We are also currently structuring a detailed budget for an additional, larger crowdfunding campaign to outfit the entire store to be a zero-waste destination, and fund the payroll and time needed to execute all of these changes, learn about the equipment, and train our staff to handle the shift. We will do all of the groundwork to lay a foundation for the type of store we have heard is necessary to promote abundance in the neighborhood, and we will commit our time and energy into an educational component alongside the services of the package-free food.
So if you’re still reading and still feeling a vibe for this less wasteful future, here’s how you can help.
You can shop with us!
You can give us your honest feedback.
You can tell us what we cando differently to fulfill your dietary needs and preferences, with regards also to budget and lifestyle.
You can volunteer; we will be accepting limited volunteers to help with some of the base runnings of the shop.
You can spread and share our story.
You can carry your own coffee mug, water bottle, and reusable utensils, and be the example.
You can have a conversation about the small changes and challenges.
You can make a commitment to doing something to prevent the death of our planet.
Thyme is running out, yet we have Hope.
And mad love, for all of you.
It’s with a heavy heart that we share some personal and challenging information about our business.
With the volume of sales we are currently doing, beginning today, Friday, March 8, Hope & Thyme is not able to sustainably meet our whole crew’s minimum financial needs. We have had to put many of our employee's salaries on hold indefinitely without knowing the future of the business. This has been the most difficult news of all, because our main focus as entrepreneurs has been creating places for the community to come together for a service and create quality jobs. To offer someone a space to earn their livelihood, and then have to take it away, has really left us feeling heart-broken.
We are shocked, as we felt in our hearts for sure that the demand was high for this type of service in the neighborhood, and that a restructuring to the former business model that occupied the space towards a package-free model would bring costs low enough to entice customers in to maintain their dietary needs. We deal with the neighborhood's food needs every day at Hudson Street Deli, and we've gained trust and accountability to do so - it felt a natural extension to continue developing ways to enhance the connection that was happening so organically anyway right in the center of this neighborhood. We have been welcomed with open hearts and open arms, and still, we are not selling enough groceries and food to make ends meet.
Volume of sales from customers who build us into their routine will help us keep prices low; otherwise, we will have to mark up goods exponentially to keep the high costs of the space afloat. This isn't what we want to do.
So this is our public rally for a question to be answered: do you want to see our vision of Hope & Thyme as a zero-waste community hub become a reality? If not, then we have misjudged, and we will take steps to figure out what to do next that's not this sustainable, community-building vision. We aren't willing to give up on it that easily though. We need to know for sure that the community has no interest.
The zero waste grocery business is one that relies on a community of people agreeing to shop for their foods in bulk packaging, entrusting knowledgeable stores to do the purveying. Our mission is centered on communal abundance, and therefore we are committed to accessible pricing for healthy wholesome foods; this is possible in package-free and bulk foods, but only if enough people come together to make a lifestyle change together. We know we have a long way to go on educating the public on these choices, and we are willing to take on that responsibility; we also know that this community is resourceful enough to help us bridge the gap, knowing what could be possible if the many community-driven individuals and businesses committed as one unit to a zero waste philosophy.
We want to inspire and help propogate a simple system of jars and reusable vessels could be sold and accepted at the businesses in Providence that are already connecting daily, with a large population of loyal and participatory customers frequenting a network of places. Hope & Thyme has really big goals of enacting change through the linking of local individuals who care about their impact, with the food choices they need to live sustainably. Without the committed individuals who choose to prioritize a connection to themselves, each other, and the place we live, the business does not survive in its current format. Yet we really feel that participating in systems of single-use plastic and convenience-type foods is irresponsible with the current state of the planet - and therefore, feel disconcerted about shifting the business model to one of convenience and impulse because society has trained us to rush our food choices and meals and get back to “productivity”.
We know there is a big learning curve to living zero waste; we are only learning as we go and facing all kinds of challenges moving the business into this philosophy too. A quick service food counter that doesn’t rely on single use packaging? It’s a lot of overhead to set up, and a lot of strategic planning, but easy to maintain and totally possible in a community like ours; if the community participates too.
We have given this project everything of ourselves, and our family, and invested everything we could to make something happen that we really believe this neighborhood is ready for and needs. $70,000 of our own money has been invested so far.
We believe this neighborhood can be an example for small communities everywhere to self organize and trust in the entrepreneurial spirit of a few neighbors to provide the basic services and move us back to the village mentality, while also being conscious of a commitment to preserving our collective resources.
$5,000 will get us through the rest of the month of March, allowing us to catch up on payroll and stay current on inventory costs. We are also currently structuring a detailed budget for an additional, larger crowdfunding campaign to outfit the entire store to be a zero-waste destination, and fund the payroll and time needed to execute all of these changes, learn about the equipment, and train our staff to handle the shift. We will do all of the groundwork to lay a foundation for the type of store we have heard is necessary to promote abundance in the neighborhood, and we will commit our time and energy into an educational component alongside the services of the package-free food.
So if you’re still reading and still feeling a vibe for this less wasteful future, here’s how you can help.
You can shop with us!
You can give us your honest feedback.
You can tell us what we cando differently to fulfill your dietary needs and preferences, with regards also to budget and lifestyle.
You can volunteer; we will be accepting limited volunteers to help with some of the base runnings of the shop.
You can spread and share our story.
You can carry your own coffee mug, water bottle, and reusable utensils, and be the example.
You can have a conversation about the small changes and challenges.
You can make a commitment to doing something to prevent the death of our planet.
Thyme is running out, yet we have Hope.
And mad love, for all of you.
Organizer and beneficiary
Chrissy Teck
Organizer
Providence, RI
Bryan Rinebolt
Beneficiary
