GRANT’S DESI ACHIEVER
PEOPLE OVER PROFIT
Seema Sanghavi, founder, Cooks Who Feed.
By SHAGORIKA EASWAR
While in India for a friend’s wedding Seema Sanghavi visited an NGO and it changed her life.
“The NGO was training marginalized women to be seamstresses and I felt compelled to help,” she says. “I didn’t know how, but I knew I could not go back to Canada and forget what I had seen.”
Sanghavi has lived in several countries around the world. She is also an amateur chef.
“I love to cook. Many of my fondest memories revolve around sharing a good meal, but I’ve also always been bothered by the number of people who go hungry.”
She knew that about one-third of the food produced gets thrown out but one headline really shocked her. It stated that the amount of food we waste could feed the entire world’s hungry four times over.
How could so many go hungry when so much food is just being thrown out?
Sanghavi started connecting the dots and the idea for Cooks Who Feed was born.
What better way to fight hunger than with an apron, the apparel of a cook?
She wondered if the women the NGO was training could become her production team.
“I never set out to create a company, the idea developed organically.”
Cooks Who Feed reached a significant milestone recently – 300,000 meals provided to those in need, and was looking to reach 500,000 at the time of this interview.
It works like this: Sanghavi partnered with charities in Canada, the US and India that rescue surplus food to feed those in need. Over one-third of profits go to charity partners. Those who love food and cooking can do their part by purchasing an apron and each apron sale equals 100 meals provided.
The charities were eager to sign up, says Sanghavi.
“No charity is going to say no, but it took me longer to get them to take me seriously! We conduct a quarterly audit and send the charities their share of the profits. When they started seeing the money they knew I was committed to the idea.”
She also partnered with well known chefs who had done philanthropic work around food waste and reducing hunger. Named after the chef they represent, the uniquely designed aprons represent their personality and style.
Chef ambassadors include Art Smith, Christine Cushing, Devan Rajkumar, Gaggan Anand and Romain Avril.
To support World Central Kitchen, a charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés that uses the power of food to nourish communities and strengthen economies through times of crisis and beyond, Cooks Who Feed now also offers a Cooks For The World apron, show-casing colours found in the World Central Kitchen logo.
Why would celebrity chefs help design aprons, or wear one to an event? What’s in it for them beyond, perhaps, good karma?
“Brand image is important, helping a cause with their name, that has an impact,” says Sanghavi, who holds an advanced degree in marketing and strategic management, and has over 12 years of experience in online marketing and product management. “And the people who purchase our aprons? They care about where they spend their money. They are looking for sustainable ways to help.”
It was important to her to ensure that funds she sent were used to feed the hungry and not siphoned off by some unscrupulous person. She asked questions. How long had the charities been around? Were they recognized for their work? Were they accredited? She started on home ground in Canada, with the very reputable Second Harvest. In India, where her research revealed was the biggest need, she partnered with Zomato Feeding India. And in the US, where according her research, the biggest food waste takes place, with Rescuing Leftover Cuisine.
Sanghavi took the same attention-to-detail approach to quality control. They use locally-sourced, recycled and natural materials. They track waste and water usage. The aprons are eco-friendly.
“It’s funny, you might think it’s an apron, but it took almost a year for us to get it right. Things like making sure the metal buckle on the adjustable strap wouldn’t rust. But I realized very quickly that I don’t have to worry about quality control. The ladies working on the aprons are invested in the process, they take pride in what they do. They get fair wages, they come to a safe, clean space to work. We have a small space for childcare as well. They get tea breaks. I am going to India this month and will take nice saris for all the ladies. I want them to experience the sort of workplace I’d like to work in myself.
“There were 12 ladies when we began, now there are 60. The only lady who left us, left to start her own catering business – and her name is also Seema!”
Sanghavi had turned to crowdfunding, doing a kickstarter to launch Cooks Who Feed. She wanted to see how it went, whether people would actually buy the aprons. To see if they would meet their goal for the first, modest production run.
They did, and she gave up her corporate job to focus on her passion project.
“It started as a side hustle, but then it took on a life of its own. I’d worked for a fair number of years, I knew I could always go back to it if I failed. It would hurt, but I had that option. I try not to be afraid of new things. My parents were very supportive. Immigrant parents place great value on education and a ‘steady’ job, but they knew how important this was for me and are so proud, telling all their friends to buy an apron!”
Her husband Nishant, also an entrepreneur and the co-founder of EnergyX Solutions, was behind the project from day one.
“He says he knew from the moment he saw me with the ladies at the NGO in India on our first visit there together.”
The couple has three children, aged 9, 7 and 4.
“And all of them are happy to wear our line of kids’ aprons!” she reports exultantly. “One of the things that really pushed me... I wanted to show them that their father and I were both following our passions and that we would support them in whatever they were passionate about. We want to raise them to be good people. The two oldest have met the ladies we work with and I am looking forward to the time I can travel with the youngest. Maybe they could volunteer there.”
She always wanted to help people who didn’t enjoy the same privileges she enjoyed growing up, says Sanghavi.
Her parents’ families both moved to India from Pakistan during the partition. While her maternal grandfather was in the defence services and they experienced less of an upheaval, her paternal grandfather had to leave everything behind and start afresh.
“My father was cleaning toilets when he was five or six. He was only able to get an education through one of those programs that sponsor a child. He did well academically, and got accepted in Acadia University in Nova Scotia. That’s how my four sisters and I came to be born and raised in Moncton, New Brunswick. But I always think, it’s just the luck of the draw, a small thing can change the course of your life. When I meet the ladies, I think, this could be me.”
“I want them to experience the sort of workplace I’d like to work in myself.” Seema Sanghavi, second from right, with the ladies who create the aprons for Cooks Who Feed.
She and her sisters were the only non-Caucasians at their school and in their neighbourhood.
“We always knew we were different, it’s apparent in small ways. I’d meet people who’d say I was the only Indian they knew. Or ask if I was going to become a doctor or engineer because Indians are smart and that’s what they do! The stereotypes are all around us. Not necessarily negative, but there. Luckily, we travelled a lot. To Toronto, to the UK, and so I realized there may not be many of us in Moncton, but there’s actually a lot of us!”
She has received grants from the Canadian government and won some money in pitch contests.
Whatever they make, she invests back in the project.
COVID was hard, but in 2021, they were looking at hitting $250,000.
To those who seek her guidance on how to succeed in Canada, Sanghavi says Canada is a wonderful country with many supports for newcomers.
“Education is accessible. There are student loans. Lots of grants for entrepreneurs. If you really believe in an idea, just go for it. It’s so hard to run a business – there’s the anxiety, the ups and downs. You question yourself. But if you start small and keep taking steps in the right direction, nothing can stop you.
“I personally believe that there’s nothing worse than looking back when we’re older and thinking, ‘I wish’.”
Sanghavi says one of the biggest thrills for her continues to be hearing back from happy customers. “When I hear, ‘I love my apron, I’m telling all my friends about it!’ it makes me so happy. And knowing we’re making a difference in the lives of the ladies we work with, that’s hugely rewarding. One of them said to me that she had always accepted charity. First from her parents, then from her husband. Now she took pride in being financially independent and in a position to perhaps help another woman out a little.
“I don’t look upon this as a business and I couldn’t have done it alone. The ladies we work with, the charities and chefs we partner with, I am so grateful to all of them.
“I’m focused on making people who love to cook more aware of food waste. I want to create a movement that empowers foodies everywhere to fight hunger in the most socially responsible way possible.”
• Grant’s is proud to present this series about people who are making a difference in the community. Represented by PMA Canada (www.pmacanada.com).
