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T hanks to Jessamyn Rodriguez's award-win- ning Hot Bread Kitchen, New York's East Harlem has become a hotbed for baking and social change. Since its inception in 2008, 45 women have been trained at this nonprofit bakery founded to help foreign-born women break into the business. Some have stayed to work at the Hot Bread Kitchen bakery and storefront, which sells globally inspired breads, while others have secured positions at top bakeries and restaurants in Manhattan. Seeing a need to sup- port even more entrepreneurs, espe- cially minorities and immigrants, Rodriguez has spent the past sever- al years expanding her organization with new programs—allowing her to realize her own dream of helping others, one loaf of bread at a time. The Vision… Before starting Hot Bread Kitchen, Rodriguez spent much of her career working on immigration policy and social justice, but she also received a Master Baker certificate from The New School and was the first female baker hired at renowned restaurant Daniel. Hot Bread Kitchen came to life as a combination of her passion for community change with her love of food. "My initial vision was of a women's bak- ing cooperative, where women could bake and sell their native breads in one space— not unlike our production bakery today," Rodriguez says. Over the past five years, her vision has expanded with the addition of a kitchen incubator workforce develop- ment program and scholarship fund. "We've quickly grown our business and expanded our programming to support all New York City entrepreneurs, while still focusing on supporting minorities and immigrants," says Rodriguez, who is also chief executive officer at Hot Bread Kitchen. Reaching Out… Initially, word of mouth was the way Rodriguez attracted trainees to her baking program, but the storefront has proven equally effective. "Increasingly, women in our East Harlem neighborhood have stopped in to our storefront for a loaf of bread, fallen in love with our programs, and decided to submit an application later on," she says. Currently she employs 18 train- ees, noting, "Our bakers hail from around the world. A handful grew up here in New York City, others immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico, Morocco, Russia, Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, Pakistan, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, and Turkey." The length of the program depends on the baker: those who show dedication and drive and are quick to pick up new skills move swiftly through the training, typically graduating within nine to 12 months. Helping Women Succeed… With its Women Bake Bread Scholarship, Rodriguez aims to support the professional develop- ment of new female bakers by helping to cover education costs. "Hot Bread Kitchen brings on new trainees each month, and this annual scholarship ensures that we are able to support more than 20 women each year," "Our bakers hail from around the world. A handful grew up here in New York City, others immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico, Morocco, Russia, Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, Pakistan, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, and Turkey." 146 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com givingBack_hotBreadKitchen.indd 146 6/5/14 8:05 AM