Small businesses are the backbone of the US economy and black entrepreneurship has helped to fuel that growth. The Covid 19 pandemic contributed to 41% of black owned businesses closing from February to April 2020. Southern Roots was able to survive the pandemic but our viral boost came in the wake of the Buy Black Movement in the summer of 2020. Many of our plans to grow our business came to a halt due to the second wave of the pandemic. We know we have to keep pounding the pavement to get our product into the hands of a variety of audiences. We have been nominated for Best Vegan Bakery in the country two years in a row and awarded by PETA for our sweet potato pie. Even with those accolades our business has had to turn down several national opportunities due to not having the resources or funding to fulfill large orders. We have been denied business loans and aren’t qualified for covid relief efforts in our quest to continue growing.
In spite of the stats we hope that Black History Month reminds everyone that small black owned businesses need your help not just during the shortest month of the year but 365 days of the year.
Now we need your help. Our goal is to raise $100,000 in 60 days. We plan to use the money to continue mass producing at the current location we rent out and hire more staffers. We would like to be able to pay off some debt that we have from keeping our staff employed throughout the pandemic, purchase new retail packaging to be able to expand faster and increase our marketing budget. And if we exceed our goal, we would love for you to come visit us at our very own storefront! We ask that you donate to our campaign, personally and socially ask at least 3 friends to donate and share this campaign as often as you can.