By Aubrey Nagle
PhillyVoice, October 7, 2015
Last year, longtime friends Charlie Crystle and Craig Lauer took a big leap by starting their own business. Crystle, a serial entrepreneur and advocate for accessibility to healthy food, and Lauer, a former brand strategist and lifelong foodie, formed The Lancaster Food Company.
But LFC isn't just selling organic breads, sunflower seed spreads and maple syrup. Crystle and Lauer created the brand to fulfill not only their mutual love of food but to support their local community. Both founders have a passion for good, healthy food and understand its impact on the economy. Thus, LFC's mission is to use organic, local food to create positive change in the city of Lancaster, which is deeply affected by poverty.
Crystle, the company's CEO, has plenty of experience both in starting a company and working with the community. He co-founded fundraising software GiftWorks and founded software company Chilisoft; he's also served on the boards of Assets Lancaster, Theater of the 7th Sister and Lancaster Community Garden.
Here Crystle discusses what LFC is doing to help the Lancaster community and why its mission is so important.
How does the Lancaster Food Company help fight poverty through its hiring practices?
We should establish that the city of Lancaster has a poverty rate of 30 percent and another 50 percent of the city isn't that much better off. We believe people deserve better than poverty pay, especially when they put in a day's work. That's what motivated us to start the company. This is a way we can directly impact people.
First, we specifically recruit people who live at or below the poverty line and enlist community partners to refer good candidates to the company. Next, we pay $14 for entry level work; that's our minimum wage and we're adding healthcare next month. Finally, we are setting aside up to 30 percent of the company for employees, so they can share in the wealth they help to build. This will be in the form of an employee stock option plan, and we expect to have it by the beginning of 2016.
What inspired you and Craig to focus your business on giving back?
We feel poverty is unacceptable in a society as wealthy as the United States, completely preventable and deeply damaging to our community. We also believe that in Lancaster, poverty is partly a choice of employers, not the employees to whom they pay poverty wages. We encourage them to find a way to do better.
What can everyday people do to fight poverty in their hometown?
Buy local. Support companies that pay a living wage and don't support the ones that pay less than that. Hire outside your comfort zone. Give second and third chances. Get to know people in poorer neighborhoods. Invest in companies trying to make change. Invest in entrepreneurs from poorer neighborhoods. Pressure your hospitals, governments and nonprofits as well as for-profit businesses to pay livable wages. Employers can share ownership. ...
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