Page 18 - Food&Drink Business magazine September 2022

SNACKS & CONFECTIONERY
Biscuits for better
Melbourne charity and biscuit brand, Worthy Cause, was founded by Rick Cohen to employ the more vulnerable in society and help them develop a brighter future. Through baking and job training, he is doing just that. Pippa Haupt writes.
BASED in Coburg North, Melbourne, and founded by Rick Cohen in September 2021, Worthy Cause employs vulnerable people who, due to disability or disadvantage, have not been able to find long-term employment.
Cohen says that growing up, he always had a passion for food and to help others.
“My childhood and upbringing was marred by major trauma, which caused me to suffer from PTSD and depression.
“Eventually, it became too much and I spent a few years in and out of psychiatric hospitals in Canberra and Melbourne. During that time, I was living
A biscuit range for a Worthy Cause.
among some of the least respected, most poorly treated, and vulnerable people in society,” Cohen says.
He says many of those people spent their lives being told they had nothing to contribute to society, but he could see how capable and intelligent they were if offered an opportunity.
“This ignited a passion in me to help those that others had neglected.” Cohen says.
GIVEN A CHANCE
Worthy Cause is determined to give as many people as possible the chance to better their lives, according to Cohen. Employees receive a stable
income, mentorship, soft-skills training and support in an inclusive and safe environment.
“Every person we help deserves respect and the opportunity to work for a better life. Through purchasing our cookies, Australians can help them get one step closer to achieving that,” says Cohen.
Worthy Cause has charity status and is registered as a Public Benevolent Institution charity sub-type.
BAKING OPPORTUNITY
Worthy Cause’s ovens were turned on in October 2021. Since then it has grown from a
‘work for an income’ concept to a full 360 degree model.
The operating model encompasses award wages for working in the kitchen baking cookies, financial counselling, literacy skills, job-readiness training and skills building, and counselling.
The short term goal for Worthy Cause is expansion. Cohen and the team are focused on growing its market reach into more stores, wholesalers, and distributors.
Doing so will enable the charity to employ more vulnerable people and move into its own commercial kitchen, instead of renting a shared kitchen through the company Cooking Space.
Long term, Cohen says the goal is to offer consumers a socially and environmentally conscious choice.
“We will expand into a range of other products, offering more people a chance to work in the program, and consumers the chance to buy products that rival the best in Melbourne while supporting those at Worthy Cause.
“More than ever, people are looking to make purchases that have the lowest possible negative impact and maximum positive impact, we can offer both,” says Cohen.
The cookie range includes classic Choc Chip, Caramilk Birthday Cake, Nutella Choc Chip and Peanut Butter Choc Chip flavours.
The cookies come in packs of two, in heat-sealed, compostable and recyclable bags. They are available from Worthy Cause online, selected IGAs, Lamanna & Sons, and for wholesale. ✷
18 | Food&Drink business | September 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au