Success and Acceptance on the Menu for Local Afghan Women Thanks to Growing Granola, Hummus, and Coffee Co.

Beautiful Day granola, coffee, hummus, and bars are available at local grocery stores and farmer’s markets throughout Rhode Island, and the cheerful packaging describes the products as ‘Proudly Made for You by Refugees’ in Beautiful Day’s workforce programs. 

As a RI Department of Human Services Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment & Training (SNAP E&T) provider, Beautiful Day offers free training to eligible SNAP recipients. But the company's mission goes much deeper than granola, or even workforce development to emphasize long-lasting community building for newly resettled individuals and families.

SNAP E&T is a federally funded program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services (FNS). It is administered by the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS) in partnership with LISC Rhode Island. Residents over age 18 who receive SNAP benefits (excluding those who participate in RIW/TANF) are eligible to participate in a SNAP E&T program. 

A whole-person philosophy is instilled in all SNAP E&T providers. Participating organizations, such as Beautiful Day, use workforce development as a foundation to provide supports to participants including case management, transportation assistance, and child care assistance. It is this type of foundation that helps move participants into long term stability lasting beyond their initial job placement. In 2023, SNAP E&T programs in Rhode Island served 15 unique providers and supported 2,184 participants, including these inspiring Afghan women. 

Sue Leonardi, a LISC program officer, said the program offers more than people might realize. “The SNAP E&T program offers so much more than just basic education. The impact that educational and vocational training, along with supportive services, can have on their [participants] lives is remarkable and inspirational,” said Leonardi. 

LISC is in the process of developing a new program with Beautiful Day that is specifically geared towards the Afghan refugee population to further connect this population of mostly women and children to the community. The organization will launch the new program, facilitated by Chrissy Heckart, Entrepreneurship Program Manager, this fall.

Rebecca Garland, associate director at Beautiful Day, explained that the Afghan Women’s Program, or AWP, began with a pilot cohort of 15 women in November 2023. “The initial goal was to provide a place for Afghan women to socialize, because many Afghan women were having trouble integrating.” Garland said. “They've been here for more than two years, and many were feeling isolated and lonely.”

Despite the incredible challenges these women have faced, with the support of the SNAP E&T pilot, the idea of a catering business evolved among the women in the pilot program. Now, with the support of Beautiful Day, Garland said, “They have built a business that really has potential to thrive. It was amazing, really, how these women were just blossoming.” 

After witnessing the success of the program, the staff at Beautiful Day knew that it must continue beyond a pilot program. SNAP E&T funding and technical assistance has helped that to become a reality.

Leonardi plays a key role in the development of innovative SNAP E&T programming like the AWP. “Providers often bring new training ideas to the team, and we talk through them.  These conversations are used to work through the details and determine if it is a viable [E&T] offering. We frequently ask our providers for their thoughts on changing processes and procedures. It is their program; we just manage it for them,” said Leonardi.

Beautiful Day’s programming is intentional about creating an environment in which English lessons and other concepts are meaningful and relevant to the trainees. For example, as the women in the pilot program started catering events, they had to standardize and write down their recipes. Each woman had grown up making the same national dishes, but with unique variations passed down orally through generations of her family. 

The facilitators of the AWP pilot embraced the enthusiasm that each woman had for cooking her own family’s recipe and facilitated a meaningful lesson that developed the participants’ English and workforce skills.

“The idea of writing down a recipe was not familiar to them. They had to translate it [into English]; they had to know what tablespoons, teaspoons, and cups are, and they had to know the vocabulary for what these foods are,” Garland said. “The entire experience is an emotional one as the women navigate the challenges of being newcomers to an area while also learning to become self-reliant one-step at a time.”

Throughout the pilot’s duration, the women practiced industrial kitchen skills, collective decision-making, and customer service. They scaled recipes up and down based on order quantity, asked English speakers for feedback on their dishes, and even developed brand new recipes that fuse Afghan cuisine with American tastes. As with all Beautiful Day programming, the AWP pilot was built on the women’s strengths and interests to provide workforce training and skills development that will support them as they integrate into their new community in Rhode Island.

If history is any indication, this approach works. About 8 in 10 graduates of Beautiful Day’s programs move on to permanent jobs. This is especially impressive because Garland says that the organization works with the hardest-to-place refugees, or those who have been unable to find employment within 90 days of arriving in the United States. 

This population can face significant barriers to integration and employment including, but not limited to, emerging English skills, limited or no formal schooling in their home countries, age, and experiences of severe trauma.  “Sometimes, they just need additional support to make the connection,” says Garland.

“I think it would be great if people knew Beautiful Day, not just as a granola company that helps refugees, but as a company that is committed to creating connections between refugees and the public,” Garland emphasized. “The best way to fight stereotypes and negative information is through relationships.” Beautiful Day hosts a communal meal once a week, has a community garden, and participates in farmer’s markets. “These are all opportunities for refugees to develop relationships with their customers.”

At Beautiful Day, SNAP E&T funding supports the salaries of case managers and specialists who meet these refugees’ unique needs. For example, the English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor provides English instruction within the context of the kitchen and workplace, enhancing motivation for learning and retention of English skills. For the Afghan Women’s Program, there will be a case manager available to support participants. 

Speaking to the importance of these specialized offerings, Leonardi said having providers who work with definitive populations like refugees ensures that they receive the appropriate support and services needed to help overcome barriers and navigate American systems.

The support provided by LISC and SNAP E&T strengthens Beautiful Day’s programming—which in turn strengthens the community ties between refugees and the community. Through the AWP, Beautiful Day will provide specialized services designed to support Afghan women’s specific needs and help them develop skills for employment. More importantly, the program is intended to be a conduit for connection like all of the company’s programs.

There is a reason that Beautiful Day chose granola, coffee, hummus, and culinary education as the basis for their training. As Garland says, “Not only is it really good but food is a great equalizer. People connect over food. It’s universal.”

For more information about Beautiful Day, click here: https://beautifuldayri.org/

And more information about the SNAP E&T program can be found at risnapet.org.