Peggy is a housing set-up volunteer who loves collecting things for the community

Sami Roe, small business specialist at the IRC in Salt Lake City, works with Laan Na Thai to make sure they stay in business during the coronavirus pandemic. He offers a few tips for the community on how to support small, immigrant-owned businesses during the pandemic.

The Nourish to Flourish Initiative works to provide stability for small business owners and restauranteurs while simultaneously addressing food insecurity in vulnerable communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic in Salt Lake County.

In February, the IRC in Salt Lake City, alongside community partners, hosted two virtual events, the Food Entrepreneur Round Table and the New American Dream Lab, to engage refugee and new American entrepreneurs. The events were generously sponsored and presented by Comcast.

In July, Spice Kitchen Incubator welcomed Emily Park, the new program manager, to the team. Emily, who trained in the French Culinary Institute, is no stranger to the world of culinary enterprises, bringing years of experience as a chef and small business owner to the program.