Frontier Co-op celebrates social impact, global partnerships at ‘Doing Good, Works’ event

Iowa-based herb and spice company Frontier Co-op celebrated its commitment to social and environmental impact with an event that featured anecdotes from partners in retail, community non-profits, global business and projects, and Frontier Co-op employees.

The “Doing Good, Works,” celebration took place Sept. 11 at the Olympic Theater in Cedar Rapids.

“This is a chance to celebrate,” said Frontier Co-op CEO, Tony Bedard. “Celebrate the idea that a company can have a good year, have a good business, and we can do it in a way that makes us proud.”

Megan Schulte, vice president of human resources, gave an introduction to the company’s Breaking Down Barriers to Employment program, which was introduced in 2018 as a solution to fulfilling staff roles while addressing systemic barriers to employment.

The initiative includes three flagship programs aimed at breaking down barriers to employment. The company’s second chance hiring practices, implemented in 2018, focuses on evaluating candidates based on their current potential rather than past difficulties.

An apprenticeship program, developed in partnership with homeless services, provides skills training to help individuals re-enter the workforce, and the nearly 50-year-old child care program offers affordable options, including before- and after-school care and summer camps, to support working parents.

“Access to affordable child care is one of the number one reasons that women are leaving the workforce,” said Ms. Schulte. “So this is very important to us.”

Transportation and financial stability programs have also been introduced. These efforts have helped employees like Alisia Weaver, who was hired in 2020 as a machine operator and has since thrived under the program’s support.

“It was like a fresh start,” said Ms. Weaver, a former cosmetologist who battled depression, substance abuse and incarceration after her long-term marriage ended in divorce. “Nobody knew my past. They didn’t know who I was, what I’ve done, where I’ve been. So it was really refreshing.”

Following her release from incarceration, Ms. Weaver encountered employment challenges during reentry, including sexual harassment at her first job and eventual termination from a second job due to her criminal history. Despite these setbacks, she found support through a network of dedicated women, and her persistence eventually led her to the Frontier program, which has been a positive turning point in her life.

“I have self worth,” she said. “I have a place, a car. I’m financially independent for the first time ever…it’s so important to have hope, to look forward to the future.”

Taking the podium next to discuss the significance of second chance hiring and skill-building programs was Alicia Faust, executive director of Willis Dady Homeless Services.

In 2017, a collaboration between Willis Dady Homeless Services and Frontier Co-op began with a shared mission to assist those facing homelessness and impact the community positively.

Their partnership resulted in successfully implementing second chance hiring practices, offering tailored employment placements and skill-building programs, including an apprenticeship with Frontier.

“Since beginning our apprenticeship program with Frontier, we have been able to determine our partnership purpose to help employers with workforce needs and for us to meet our goals of our client stability and self-sufficiency through employment, by providing creative and alternative solutions,” said Ms. Faust.

The process involves recruitment screening and hiring to identify cost-effective temporary workers, with the aim of transitioning them into full-time employees, she continued.

“Since 2018, Willis Dady has placed over 480 individuals through our apprenticeship program, with nearly 30% of placements turning into permanent hires,” she said.

The program also provides essential support services such as transportation, childcare, and crisis management, achieving an 85% monthly attendance rate and 88% employee retention. This ongoing success underscores the importance of sustaining second chance hiring practices and collaborative efforts to improve employment and housing stability, she said.

Frontier’s nonprofit partners discuss missions, initiatives

Following the discussion on second chance hiring practices, leaders from three of Frontier Co-op’s Cedar Rapids nonprofit partners took the stage to emphasize their organizations’ contributions and the crucial backing from Frontier Co-op, detailing how the support has been pivotal in addressing local needs and advancing sustainable development in the community.

Sarah Halbrook, director of development with Indian Creek Nature Center, discussed their mission of promoting environmental education and regenerative agriculture.

Currently, Indian Creek Nature Center is actively raising funds for all-terrain wheelchairs and broadening its regenerative agriculture initiatives on donated land, she said.

Emmaly Renshaw, director of land access for Feed Iowa First, gave an overview of their mission to improve health equity by increasing access to nutrient-dense foods.

“We grow anywhere between 15 and 30,000 pounds of organic produce,” she said, which is distributed through a network of community partners.

Feed Iowa First’s land access program supports immigrant farmers by providing essential resources such as land, water, and assistance. This initiative helps farmers grow culturally significant crops, with the goal of integrating them into the local food system and bolstering food security in the region.

“And then also, we can also create additional income streams for these families that are settling in and trying to stabilize their lives,” said Ms. Renshaw.

Clint Twedt-Ball, executive director of Matthew 25, gave an overview of the organization’s mission to strengthen neighborhoods through food security, housing, education, and community building.

“We believe in growing strong neighborhoods here in Cedar Rapids, and we do that through four pillars,” he said. “One of those is good food, making sure that everybody has access to good food. The second is high quality housing. We want everybody to be able to live in housing that is healthy and nurtures them. The third is educational opportunity – everybody should have an education that propels them forward, that helps them to live into the gifts that they’ve been given. And the fourth is community building, a connected community where neighbor cares for neighbor. If you have those four things, then you have a really good shot in life.”

Mr. Twedt-Ball highlighted Groundswell Café, a pay-it-forward eatery run by Matthew 25 and the evening’s caterer, along with their grocery store designed to deliver fresh produce to food deserts.

Frontier’s global reach

As its final presentation for the evening, Frontier Co-op highlighted the ways it has advanced fair sourcing through a collaboration with the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Cooperative Development Program (USAID CDP).

Since 2018, the initiative has empowered smallholder farmers in Sri Lanka, Guatemala, and India by improving cooperative practices, organic farming, and collective ownership.

Achievements include the establishment of a tea processing facility in India and the validation of seed pasteurization processes in Guatemala.

Raj Vable, founder of Young Mountain Tea, expressed gratitude for Frontier Co-op’s support and shared the journey of his company, which began in 2013 with a promise to help Indian farmers in the Himalayas create sustainable livelihoods through tea cultivation.

He highlighted the challenge that farmers face in owning processing facilities, which is crucial for them to take full ownership of their work.

With Frontier Co-op’s partnership, he said, they built a tea processing facility in the Kumaon region of India.

“It’s not about Frontier, you know?” said Mr. Bedard, following Mr. Vable’s presentation. “It’s really about what people can do together, starting with their member owners. We couldn’t do one thing without that support.”