A loan of $10,000 helps me to increase my organic mushroom production by 10 times more organic mushrooms each week!
I grew up in East Palo Alto, an inner city of the bay area, during the 1980’s in the height of its crime and crack epidemic. East Palo Alto had a lot of liquor stores but no supermarkets or grocery stores. As a result of growing up in an area where there was no grocery stores, no access to fresh healthy food. I became hyper aware of the lack of resources in my community. The closet grocery store was in a city miles away, a long ride away by car or bus. During my studies at UCSC, I learned how to grow mushrooms in the lab. After many successful home-grows I continued to grow mushrooms as a hobby. My passion and ingenuity drive me to reuse products of my environment like spent coffee grounds to create a product that ultimately adds value to peoples health, way of life and wellbeing. East Palo Alto like many inner cities in New York are food deserts. My goal is to give back to communities that are food deserts in New York and use the resources in the environment to provide delicious organic grown gourmet mushrooms.
Manhattan Mushroom Company is the first organic specialty mushroom farm located in New York City. We are dedicated to recycling local source coffee grounds and biomass to grow and distribute fresh, no pesticide, organic gourmet mushrooms year around.
Manhattan Mushroom Company values:
1. Giving back to the community
2. Ecological-consciousness in relation to other ecosystems, people, and environment
3. Ecological recycling
Manhattan Mushroom Company was established in 2015 with a mission to operate an urban mushroom farm with a focus on ecology. Our ecological-consciousness is being aware of our business in relation to other ecosystems, people, and environment. Our business gives back to the community by teaching workshops and classes in mushroom cultivation and agriculture to youth and local residents. Soon we will launch our Mushroom Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
Our Niche: We grow gourmet mushrooms organically and local while addressing ecological recycling and food waste in NYC.
Ecological recycling is the movement and exchange of organic and inorganic matter back into the production of living matter. Coffee grounds add Nitrogen, Potassium, and Magnesium to the mushroom growing environment. Coffee grounds act as the inorganic matter that provides mineral nutrients. We grow every mushroom with coffee grounds, field crop refuse and organic compost. The organic materials provide a carbon source for the mushrooms that creates energy from microbial oxidation. We believe ecological recycling biomass into food will be the future food source for cities, large metropolitans, and communities that generate large volumes of food waste. We foster environmentally sustainable farming practices by using ecological recycling methods to harvest fresh, no pesticide, organically grown
Our Market: Hotel, Executive Club Dinning, Farmers Markets, University Faculty Club Dinning, Food-Co op, Culinary Business, Caterers, and Restaurants who purchase and demand large volumes of mushrooms weekly.
Customers: Our primary customers are business and secondary customers are individuals at farmer’s markets.
Biggest Challenge: Securing start up funding so the mushroom farm can expand into a commercial space that will serve as its new home in New York City.
Ultimate Business Goal: Decrease the volume of discarded coffee grounds accumulated in New York City landfills while increasing the food supply by 15 tons for hundred of thousands of people in New York City.
I will spend the loan on rent for an indoor commercial space. This space will help us increase our mushroom production volume. The monthly rent is $ 3300 x 3 (months rent) = $10,000. This purchase will increase our revenue 10 times! This loan will impact my business in a positive way by securing a larger indoor farm space to grow organic mushrooms indoors inside a climate control environment. This loan will impact my life in a positive way by providing an indoor production farm facility for employees, interns and myself to cultivate and grow mushrooms.