WEB EXCLUSIVE 321 Coffee just announced a partnership with Pendo that will create 10 new jobs for individuals with IDDs.
This week we’re celebrating a major win for inclusion in Raleigh, as local fave 321 Coffee just announced a new partnership with Pendo to open a second brick-and-mortar in the City of Oaks.
This new location will service Pendo employees on the 19th floor of the new Raleigh Crossing tower in DTR beginning in early 2022. Featuring unique Pendo-inspired specialty drinks, 321 Coffee’s newest location will open up employment opportunities for up to 10 more individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
321 Coffee’s mission is all about inclusion. “Eighty percent of adults with IDD are unemployed, and we’re on a mission to change that,” says Lindsay Wrege, co-founder and CEO of 321 Coffee. “I’m proud of how 321 Coffee has been able to successfully create jobs and employ individuals with disabilities in our company. As we expand, we want to help other companies like Pendo employ people with disabilities into their workforce and culture. This is how we can truly scale our impact and create systemic change toward workforce inclusion.”
Wrege and 321 Coffee’s ultimate goal? To expand operations to other locations and employ over 100 individuals with IDD.
“We are excited about the opportunity to take our partnership with Pendo to the next level,” adds Wrege. “It’s my hope that the collaboration between 321 Coffee and Pendo serves as a catalyst for other companies to spark creative partnerships and recognize opportunities to make an impact in their industries. Whether with us or other diverse suppliers, there is a lot of good that can happen when a company creates a win-win partnership.” It’s also a brew-tiful thing for local coffee lovers.
We’ve all heard of farm-to-table… but what do you know about farm-to-can? Devil’s Foot Beverage Company, an Asheville-based craft soda company, is utilizing fresh, regionally sourced ingredients in their zero-proof bevs—making for an ideal mocktail or mixer for festive holiday gatherings (or, ya know, just whenever you’re thirsty).
Devil’s Foot President and co-founder Ben Colvin came up with the super-satisfying soda after noticing there weren’t many nonalcoholic options at taprooms—and that most ginger beers were too sweet. Ergo, Devil’s Foot’s 10 distinctly flavored craft bevs—each with less than 20g of sugar per can and mostly sweetened naturally by fruit, as well as regionally sourced honey and organic cane sugar—were the perfect solution.
Crowd faves include the spicy original Ginger Beer, the Fuego Ginger Beer (kicking it up a notch!), Pink Robots Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade and Blueberry Feels Forever (a sparkling blueberry lemonade).
Beyond using craft brewing equipment and techniques, one crucial practice for the bev company is keeping it local and sustainable. Its farm-to-can model means zesting fruit before juicing, using “ugly fruit” and sending off pressed fruit skins to brewers. It’s sustainability at its tastiest. So this holiday season you can get in the spirit with some spirit-free sparkling bevs and skip the holiday hangover. Yes, please!
WEB EXCLUSIVE One local farm is going above and beyond to help the NC community this holiday season.
’Tis the season of giving, and just like it’s never too early to tackle your gift list, it’s also never too early to start thinking about ways to give back to the community. Enter Braswell Family Farms, a Nashville, NC-based family-owned farm specializing in feed and eggs, who is leading the way in bettering the world around them.
And that’s an effort we can all get behind—especially after the year-plus we’ve had. So, this holiday season—and every season—we implore you to consider donating whatever you can (time, money, items, expertise) to local charities and events.
WEB EXCLUSIVE Participate in a local gym class in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Think pink… it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month! In an effort to save the tatas, BIOLYTE, a multiuse hydration beverage with the same benefits as a medical-grade IV (!), has partnered with the American Cancer Society to donate cases of BIOLYTE to local gyms offering BCA fundraising fitness classes throughout October.
BCA is close to BIOLYTE’s heart, says Jesslyn Rollins, CEO of BIOLYTE. “In 2005, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer,” she explains. “She was so dehydrated from her treatments that she couldn’t even keep up with her chemotherapy. My dad, who is a physician, decided to use his background in medicine to create BIOLYTE to keep people hydrated throughout chemo treatments.”
Rollins’ mom is now cancer-free, but she continues with BIOLYTE’s mission to help others and—hopefully—one day try to free the world from cancer. “Our family knows firsthand how much of an uphill battle beating cancer can be, and we are determined to help in any way we can,” says Rollins.
WEB EXCLUSIVE Hungry Harvest has challenged three local breweries to create a brew utilizing rescued produce from local farms through its Drink Your Produce competition.
We all know the saying “eat your vegetables”—but why not drink them…? Hungry Harvest is challenging three local breweries (Bull City Ciderworks, Durty Bull Brewing and Clouds Brewing) to add produce rescued from local farms into limited-edition brews that will be released Oct. 22.
Here’s a sneak peak of those veggie-forward brews (which we think most definitely can contribute to your daily dose)…. Bull City Ciderworks is launching Yampkin, a cider made with apples—naturally—sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cinnamon, brown sugar and a hint of oak. The cider will be available at all three Bull City locations: Durham, Greensboro and Lexington.
Clouds has brewed up a Sweet Potato Pepper Porter, which adds peppers from Tart Farms in Dunn to the brewery’s annual sweet potato porter to give it just a little kick (available at Clouds’ Raleigh taproom). And last but not least, Durty Bull is bringing the funk with Melonious Funk, a two-year oak-aged sour blended with watermelon and lime, available at Durty Bull’s Durham taproom.
Head out to each of these limited-edition breweries to cast your vote for your fave—the winner will be announced Nov. 8. Hungry Harvest will also be matching a portion of the proceeds generated from the special-brew sales and donating to a local hunger-solving organization. So drink up, friends.
But the fun doesn’t stop there. The brewery with the most social media engagement will receive fresh produce through December. And the person who takes the most creative photo of their brew (using the #drinkyourproduce hashtag and tagging both Hungry Harvest and the brewery) will win a special prize pack! So go on and eat—er, drink—your vegetables!
