The Cupcake Economy

Aiding and abetting the flourishment and nourishment of social enterprises should not rely on what I've coined the 'cupcake economy' yet I see a lot of examples of it.  On my personal blog awhile back I ranted on the issue. And just the other day I saw a posting for a part time job in Toronto for a sales representative to do promotion talks for a non-profit urban agriculture garden set up and maintainance service.  The advertisement indicated only that is was part time and didn't say how many hours were to be expected.  That alone was irritating.  After a demanding list of qualifications (previous sales experience being the really relevant bit) I got to the juicy cupcake-y bit:

So let's get this straight, in a city that has up to an 81 minute commute time (one way) I would be the lucky recipient of $20 if I spend a possible 162 minutes in my car and then 60 minutes presenting (or more, especially since you are itching for the $10 bonus that might cover half your gas).  Let's do the hourly wage math on that:  162 minutes + 60 minutes = 222 minutes or approximately 3.7 hours.  If we divide $20  by 3.7 that works out to a whopping $5.41/hour that will help fund the gas/insurance/capital costs of getting to these gigs. If you close the deal you'll bump that to a whopping $8.11/hr which is still 79% of Ontario's minimum wage. Benefits you ask?  We've got publicly funded health care, right? [Click here for the pdf of a thorough 2009 report that debunks the myth that the working poor having adequate health care.]

But hey..as long as your 'passionate about local food' that should make standing in the food bank line up easier and you'll have lots to talk about at the homeless shelter you sometimes shack up in because with those wages you sure aren't gonna be able to have a car, a home, AND food. The job description is pretty clear that the car is your priority if you sign up with these guys.

On a more serious note, the reality of the cupcake economy is large in a world where unemployed youth are scrambling to find meaningful work. The world wide crisis in youth unemployment and a move towards a secular western society (here's a recent American study on the growth of 'unaffiliated') are leaving large societal gaps that struggling new social enterprises are taking advantage of in droves.  If you're passionate about something it is all well and fine to volunteer some time towards the cause but be wary of enterprises that insult you with 'jobs' that are really volunteer positions that offer little to no honorarium (like most internships).

If a job doesn't at least meet a living wage, or if you are not clear about your own non-monetary benefits (as in, it would be good to do this abysmally or non paying job aka internship so I can learn how to promote my own similar social enterprise) - why would you take it? Be very wary. Cupcakes might be delicious but they are basically empty calories.

Our reliance on low paid or non paid work in the social enterprise 'industry' belittles the authority of the social enterprise movement in the long run. So, just like our bodies need good quality calories, our economy needs good quality jobs to move forward.  And just like good food costs more, good jobs do too.  Plan accordingly when mapping out your social enterprise. Ensure that employees receive a living wage from the start. Why should they invest social capital in your social enterprise otherwise?

(As an aside, I personally know the people who posted this job which is why I didn't publicly out them.  I believe they are earnest young social entrepreneurs but I am appalled at their lack of professionalism in the posting and the remuneration scheme.)

Foodutainment arrives in Hogtown's Liberty Village.

What happens when you get a group of people that love good sustainable food and they decide to do something constructive about it while smashing the current restaurant business model at the same time?   Maizal Quesedilla Café in Toronto is what can happen, that's what.


When you think of yet another latin american infused restaurant opening in Toronto you might feel the urge to stifle a yawn.  This Food Warrior (FW) did too, until enough tweets about them from fellow FWs in Toronto made our own FW whiskers "twiver".  In fact, we were intrigued enough on their opening day to detour to their Liberty Village location to grab some food to try on our way to another food warrior event that evening.


Upon walking into the gorgeously laid out restaurant - complete with a retro styled stamped tin ceiling - you immediately forget that you've walked into a strip mall.  And when we saw who was running the place we knew immediately that things were radishly different.  The owners of the restaurant (Gabriela and Ivan) are really shaking up the good food scene with this endeavour. Like their peers at Chocosol, they view food as an opportunity for community nourishment and they are taking things to a whole new level with this restaurant.


Ivan met our FW at an organizational meeting for the Toronto Urban Agricultural Summit happening this summer.  And, subsequent to that initial meetup,  at a Toronto Food Policy council meeting where he and his fellow team of farmers presented information about their efforts at starting a near urban agriculture co-operative farm in Brampton.  This farm is growing some of the food that will be eventually used by this restaurant.  And what is not grown here is grown on small sustainable farms in Mexico that they have a direct relationship with.  The Brampton farm in itself is an innovative model since it is the first co-operative near urban sustainable and ecological farm for the greater Toronto area - and this is why they were presenting at the Toronto Food Policy Council.  The fact that this farm is behind the delicious food on offer at Maizal is a subtle but key enhancement to the traditional supply chain management model that most (nearly all) restaurants in Toronto participate in.  Lettuce Connect hopes to soon take a day trip out to the farm and investigate things further on that front.


The second component to Maizal's rock solid food warrior status is their use of the traditional method of preparing the corn.  The restaurant has a volcanic stone rock on display that they use to grind the corn.  Lettuce Connect hopes that some local schools discover this ready-made afternoon trip that will provide kids with a short excursion into the history and tastiness of traditional mexican food.  Ivan and Gabriela commissioned an artist to draw the story of corn on their wall so that will provide children (and parents and teachers) a ready made learning/discussion opportunity as they enjoy their meals.  


In short, the food, ambiance and background story is simply a-maize-ing and Lettuce Connect hopes to see many more social enterprise based restaurant models like this sprout up.  It is time to give a fork and grow in soil-idarity to replenish the earth and our bodies.  Kudos to Maizal Quesadilla Café for joining the food warrior army that is sprouting up by folks that want to push food forward in Toronto and beyond!

Foodutainment:  Food Education Entertainment.
The history of corn is illustrated along one of the walls in the main seating area.

Really scrumptious chicken fried quesadilla made with
volcanic stone ground corn, the traditional way.
The volcanic stone grinder is on display.

The deets:
Food Warrior Name:  Maizal Quesadilla Café: twitter/facebook
Food Warrior Location: 133 Jefferson Ave, Liberty Village, Toronto: map
Food Warrior Weapons:  Vegetarian, Local, Sustainable, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Legume Free, Vegan offerings 
Food Warrior Accessibility:  No (but there are plans to change this)
Food Warrior Value:  All meals are pledged to remain under $10.  Above (did I mention it was delicious?) meal was $7.50 + taxes.  Traditional Mexican drinks are served.  All non-alcoholic at the moment - they are awaiting their license.