Aspiring Vegan Vendor
Donation protected
Background
Bani's Beets needs you! No support is too small. My name is Auriel, I am 26 years old and Chicago native. We live in a world with scarce healthy food resources. In some under-resourced Chicago neighborhoods, the child overweight population/obesity rates exceed 50%. With Bani's Beets, my mobile fresh juice bar, I have created a fresh and fun outlet to afford families a healthier lifestyle.
This year I am signing up to be a vendor at the largest vegan festival in my city on June 10th. The Chicago Vegan Drink & Food Festival has inspired thousands of vegans and non-vegans with a wide variety of healthy food options. No need to be discouraged when thinking about "eating healthy", vendors like myself want to empower you through organic fresh food and drink recipes that taste great and are nutritiously satisfying.
Drinking fresh juice offers your body vital natural vitamins filled with living enzymes, essential minerals, antioxidants, and natural antibiotics. To ensure the best quality of juice, I thoroughly clean and scrub all my fruits and vegetables in a purifying bath before juicing while protecting the nutrients in a sterile glass bottle that is recyclable and free from chemicals like BPA, phthalates, PVC or polycarbonate.
Five years ago I began a mission to make a positive impact in my community and the world. After completing a rigorous undergraduate and graduate academic career at DePaul University, I quickly learned the role of health within a robust economy. I earned my undergraduate degree double majoring in Economics & Marketing as well as my masters in Economics & Policy Analysis. Through my studies, I concluded that health would be the strongest indicator to the level of an individual's contributions. Collectively, the fate of our long-term economic growth is a derivative of our mental and physical well-being.
As the founder of Bani's Beets, I am dedicated to learning about, educating, and promoting foods that combat diseases and illnesses; to help build communities that are wealthy from the inside out.
Don't just be...Beet Your Best Self!
Bani’s Story
Witnessing generations of my family practice juicing as a means to stay healthy and help fight sickensses, greatly impacted me as a teenager. Many of my diet decisions stemmed from my upbringing and belief in nature for substance as well as sustainment. At the age of 13 I became an adamant juicer. I juiced for my household and myself daily. When college rolled around I noticed friends became interested in what I was drinking every day. I relished in the opportunity to share my juice and all the benefits of it.
Soon thereafter I began making juice for free for friends, co-workers and more family. In addition to making the juices, I made deliveries across a 50 mile radius despite a 3 hour commute to work and school as I finished my graduate program while working full time. Even though my demanding schedule forced me to scale back on juicing for myself, I kept juicing for others as a result of feedback saying they felt better, their energy levels improved, or that they had lost unwanted weight. Though I haven’t made a penny from juicing, seeing the impact it has on people’s lives and behavior, has been incredibly rewarding over all of these years and I am determined to get my business off the ground.
Over the last 2 years I have made more assertive actions towards making my juicing business viable without sacrificing quality. At this point, I’ve poured all that I financially have in it. I will need to sell over 1,100 juices in one day to break even, so this GoFundMe is not intended to line my pockets. With your help, I will be able to acquire the equipment and inventory I need to be able to produce a large volume of juices and introduce my product to the greater Chicago community. With the exposure from the festival I will be able to expand my customer base from just close family and friends, and be able to serve the community that I have been committed to helping, in so many ways.
What Exactly Is Needed?
$600- Booth Signage & 10x10 Tent
$600- Registration
$1250- Inventory (Produce)
$500- Equipment
$1000- Packaging
What’s Next?
Currently, Bani’s Beets is a delivery and event catering service. Next we will expand into a food truck to continue making healthy options accessible. This summer, we will be available in some local stores and restaurants as we pride ourselves in supporting farmers markets and local businesses. In about 2 years we will occupy a brick and mortar in which we aspire to make healthy foods as convenient, fresh and tasty as possible, opening as many stores as we can.
Thank you for taking to time to read my story and for your generosity. Please come out and support me at what I promise to be an amazing experience at Grant Park for the Vegan Fest on June 10th . I will be there all day!
Bani's Beets needs you! No support is too small. My name is Auriel, I am 26 years old and Chicago native. We live in a world with scarce healthy food resources. In some under-resourced Chicago neighborhoods, the child overweight population/obesity rates exceed 50%. With Bani's Beets, my mobile fresh juice bar, I have created a fresh and fun outlet to afford families a healthier lifestyle.
This year I am signing up to be a vendor at the largest vegan festival in my city on June 10th. The Chicago Vegan Drink & Food Festival has inspired thousands of vegans and non-vegans with a wide variety of healthy food options. No need to be discouraged when thinking about "eating healthy", vendors like myself want to empower you through organic fresh food and drink recipes that taste great and are nutritiously satisfying.
Drinking fresh juice offers your body vital natural vitamins filled with living enzymes, essential minerals, antioxidants, and natural antibiotics. To ensure the best quality of juice, I thoroughly clean and scrub all my fruits and vegetables in a purifying bath before juicing while protecting the nutrients in a sterile glass bottle that is recyclable and free from chemicals like BPA, phthalates, PVC or polycarbonate.
Five years ago I began a mission to make a positive impact in my community and the world. After completing a rigorous undergraduate and graduate academic career at DePaul University, I quickly learned the role of health within a robust economy. I earned my undergraduate degree double majoring in Economics & Marketing as well as my masters in Economics & Policy Analysis. Through my studies, I concluded that health would be the strongest indicator to the level of an individual's contributions. Collectively, the fate of our long-term economic growth is a derivative of our mental and physical well-being.
As the founder of Bani's Beets, I am dedicated to learning about, educating, and promoting foods that combat diseases and illnesses; to help build communities that are wealthy from the inside out.
Don't just be...Beet Your Best Self!
Bani’s Story
Witnessing generations of my family practice juicing as a means to stay healthy and help fight sickensses, greatly impacted me as a teenager. Many of my diet decisions stemmed from my upbringing and belief in nature for substance as well as sustainment. At the age of 13 I became an adamant juicer. I juiced for my household and myself daily. When college rolled around I noticed friends became interested in what I was drinking every day. I relished in the opportunity to share my juice and all the benefits of it.
Soon thereafter I began making juice for free for friends, co-workers and more family. In addition to making the juices, I made deliveries across a 50 mile radius despite a 3 hour commute to work and school as I finished my graduate program while working full time. Even though my demanding schedule forced me to scale back on juicing for myself, I kept juicing for others as a result of feedback saying they felt better, their energy levels improved, or that they had lost unwanted weight. Though I haven’t made a penny from juicing, seeing the impact it has on people’s lives and behavior, has been incredibly rewarding over all of these years and I am determined to get my business off the ground.
Over the last 2 years I have made more assertive actions towards making my juicing business viable without sacrificing quality. At this point, I’ve poured all that I financially have in it. I will need to sell over 1,100 juices in one day to break even, so this GoFundMe is not intended to line my pockets. With your help, I will be able to acquire the equipment and inventory I need to be able to produce a large volume of juices and introduce my product to the greater Chicago community. With the exposure from the festival I will be able to expand my customer base from just close family and friends, and be able to serve the community that I have been committed to helping, in so many ways.
What Exactly Is Needed?
$600- Booth Signage & 10x10 Tent
$600- Registration
$1250- Inventory (Produce)
$500- Equipment
$1000- Packaging
What’s Next?
Currently, Bani’s Beets is a delivery and event catering service. Next we will expand into a food truck to continue making healthy options accessible. This summer, we will be available in some local stores and restaurants as we pride ourselves in supporting farmers markets and local businesses. In about 2 years we will occupy a brick and mortar in which we aspire to make healthy foods as convenient, fresh and tasty as possible, opening as many stores as we can.
Thank you for taking to time to read my story and for your generosity. Please come out and support me at what I promise to be an amazing experience at Grant Park for the Vegan Fest on June 10th . I will be there all day!
Organizer
Auriel Banister
Organizer
Chicago, IL