A social equity kitchen aimed to support people of color interested in the cannabis infusion industry has opened in Oakland, according to the Bay Area Reporter. The project was launched this week by Breeze Distro CEO Amber E. Senter and her business partner Cesar Angobaldo, who secured a $250,000 grant from the city through their Equity Works Incubator program.
According to the report, the city funds will be used to train five equity fellows in a one-year program focused on cannabis-infused edibles. Senter said the goal of the Equity Works Incubator is “to train, empower, and build capacity for full engagement in the cannabis market, especially for communities who have been historically targeted by the war on drugs to break into the legal cannabis industry.”
“People of color have been engaging in recipe development, extraction, and consumption of infused cannabis products for decades. Black- and Brown-owned cannabis brands reportedly… represent 3 percent of the cannabis companies in California. The edibles category are California’s fastest and largest growing cannabis segment with 20 percent year over year growth.” – Senter, in a statement via the Reporter
Each approved applicant will be provided a 1,200-square-foot commercial kitchen space and mentorship by a cannabis industry executive along with a “guaranteed distribution channel” to retailers, Senter said.
Senter said the project is the first state-funded cannabis edibles manufacturing incubator for social equity business owners in the nation.
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