Ground Up Nut Butters Helps Womxn Get Back on Their Feet

At 22, Julie Sullivan received a call: “Can you move to Uganda in two weeks?” That summons, and the following two years spent leading an employment-training program in the East African nation, cemented her passion for using “business as a social tool for good.” So when she returned to the U.S., Sullivan was determined to follow through with that commitment here, which led to the creation of Ground Up: a “not-just-for-profit” founded by Sullivan and Carolyn Cesario that’s one part job-training program and one part inventively flavored nut butter brand.

Ground Up partners with local nonprofits to employ six to eight womxn who are facing employment barriers, such as addiction, mental illness, criminal records, domestic violence, and homelessness, to provide them the necessary tools to reenter the workforce.

“We’re not looking at your background or history,” Sullivan says. “If you have the motivation to work, we’re going to work with you.”

Over a six-to-nine-month period, participants develop skills that fit their employment goals. And it’s working. Ground Up has graduated 60 womxn into the workforce over the course of six years. Many secure jobs at other businesses in the food industry, including New Seasons Market and Grand Central Bakery. In addition, five graduates are now permanent Ground Up employees, making up half the staff.

Ground Up has come a long way from its humble beginnings, when Sullivan and Cesario would make nut butter in a Cuisinart and sell it at farmers markets. Now you can find jars of the spread on grocery store shelves sitting next to big brands like Adams and Jif. And the company is not slowing down. Ground Up now has a year-round chocolate-hazelnut milkshake collaboration with Burgerville, which means only one thing: job creation.

“For us, there’s a direct correlation,” Sullivan says. “The more we can grow sales, the more job opportunities we can offer to individuals overcoming adversity.”