Ari Raz feeds off his passion for food and nutrition as he runs his social venture that feeds those in need.  Pure Joy Foods was founding in February and is dedicated to delivering high quality nutritious food to as many young children as possible, whether or not their families can afford it.  As of now, they primarily focus on premium organic baby food, but hope to grow into providing different food products as their customers mature.  Azi sheds light on the nutritional issues facing children in the United States.  22 million children are using food stamps, and are not being exposed to nourishing organic foods that are harder to access in lower income areas.  Pure Joy Foods partners with the non profit organization Martha’s Table by providing them with 1 nutritious food item for every 5 items sold.  This interview is the third in our series of interviews featuring fellows of Halcyon Incubator social venture accelerator of of Washington, D.C.  We focus in on Azi’s plan to utilize the the Incubator resources to help his company be more professional, communicate better, and build its social mission. He also shares his desire to see the need for new structure and components put into place in order to accommodate those in the social entrepreneurship movement.

Shownotes:

• What is the best book you have ever read?

  • Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco

  • Fed Up With Lunch by Sarah Wu

  • Rebuilding the Foodshed by Phillip Ackerman-Leist

• What is the Best piece of advice you have ever received?

  • “Try to become the least important person in your organization.”  

  • A successful organization is one that does not always need you there, but needs you pushing it forward onto the next stage.

• What is the favorite tool you are using to grow Pure Joy Food?

  • Tasting parties for parents to help generate interest and gain subscribers.

• What is a social venture to watch besides Pure Joy:

  • Datasembly

    • Making Public Data more accessible .

  • Arcadia Foods

    • Mobile Farmers Market

• What is the fiirst thing everyone can do to start changing the world?

  • Believe that you have the power to make a difference!

• Contact:

  • Email Ari
  • Pure Joy Foods Website