Allison Powers and Camille Kerr discuss the 2020 Co-op Innovation Awards

Alison Powers, Cooperative & Community Initiatives Manager at Capital Impact Partners, and Camille Kerr, Founder of ChiFresh Kitchen discuss the 2020 Co-op Innovation Award, and the work being done by co-op owners of ChiFrish Kitchen.

Capital Impact Partners, in partnership with National Cooperative Bank, awarded a total of $100,000 to the 2020 Co-op Innovative Awardees, - ChiFresh, The Guild, and the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative. This year the Co-op Innovation Award focused on organizations educating new audiences on the impact and potential of the cooperative model to disrupt income inequality, steward community ownership, and create strong vibrant places of opportunity. The Innovative Award aims to increase co-op development in communities with low incomes and/or communities of color.

ChiFresh Kitchen was awarded $50,000 to expand its commercial kitchen, owned and determined by formerly incarcerated Chicagoans, primarily Black women. ChiFresh pushed forward its intended launch in response to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on Chicagoans of color and residents with low incomes.

Camille Kerr is the founder of ChiFresh Kitchen. Through her various leadership positions in worker ownership organizations over the past eight years, Camille has had the opportunity to shape some of the most innovative initiatives in the field. She has authored thought pieces, drafted legislation, managed cooperative development initiatives, designed new corporate forms, and supported individual businesses in their transition to worker ownership.