Ben & Jerry’s partner Greyston Bakery was founded in 1982 with one pioneering goal: hiring those who’d otherwise struggle getting work in Yonkers, New York, and investing all profits back into the community through its nonprofit, Greyston Foundation.
Greyston’s success at uplifting Yonkers – a community where nearly one in six residents live below the poverty line, and nearly one in four are under age 18 – is unquestionable. These figures are even more pronounced in southwest Yonkers, where Greyston is located. By maintaining an open hiring policy, Greyston Bakery hires men and women with no or little work experience, histories with homelessness, incarceration, substance abuse and/or illiteracy.
Baker Charles Jones says his employer “saved his life” and the lives of others, by giving ex-felons and ex-cons a chance to turn themselves around and “adapt back to society”. “If I didn’t come to Greyston, I’d probably be incarcerated for the rest of my life,” he says.
Greyston’s business model aligns with Ben & Jerry’s belief that product quality, profitability, and community support work in tandem. As Ben & Jerry’s official supplier of brownies, Greyston Bakery – which hires 126 employees and makes almost five million pounds of brownies annually – has been part of the company’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie or Half-Baked ice creams since the late ‘80s.
Greyston is a certified B Corporation, and the first benefit corporation in New York, using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. The bakery joins a movement of over 1,000 eco-certified B corps from 33 countries and 60 industries. Greyston gives back by offering work, education, community service, affordable housing and over 400 community gardens. Bakery profits go to the Greyston Foundation’s self-sufficiency programs, including affordable housing and support services for the formerly homeless and a technology learning center; 5% of profits go to employees.
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