Women Entrepreneurs
Julia Beck, founder of the It’s Working Project has been an active and engaged industry innovator for more than 21 years. As the category’s definitive elder statesman and strategic partner, Julia and her team have been on the leading edge of the conversation and challenges at the center of the expectant and parent universe. Julia’s unique perch and her cadre of cross-industry connections have led her on a path that at once supports women and families and also sees unmet needs in a way that allows for private sector engagement as a winning tool for all. While Julia is “all ears” and an advocate of policy shifts, she remains squarely committed to the idea that the shortest path to much-needed solutions lie in partnerships and private sector commitments to paradigm shifts
Q&A with Founder of Yummy Spoonfuls
Agatha Achindu WHAT IS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WISH YOU COULD OFFER YOUR FORMER, EXPECTANT SELF? Don’t take it too seriously. I got pregnant with our youngest in my 30s and went a little overboard.
DID THE LAUNCH OF YUMMY SPOONFULS® START OFF AS A PASSION PROJECT? A REACTION? WHAT OF YOUR CORPORATE LIFE THAT CAME BEFORE? The inspiration for Yummy Spoonfuls really started in my mother’s garden. I grew up in Cameroon, West Africa, on a family farm. We always ate the freshest vegetables and fruits and my mother prepared everything from scratch. This knowledge has informed my entire life. When I moved to the US, I was shocked by the many diseases in my community that were directly tied to diet, I started teaching my friends and anyone ready to listen how to make better food choices, how to cook their meals without compromising taste while maximizing nutrients. Man was I ahead of my time, in the early 90s I was already teaching friends to make ‘fried’ chicken and fries in the oven for same crunch but without the oils. When our youngest child, Jared-Zane, came along in 2004, I realized that healthy, tasty food for children did not exist in the marketplace. I made a shift and started teaching parents and anyone who would listen how to make fresh food for their babies that’s bursting with nutrients and taste. Word spread around, and soon I was teaching childhood nutrition classes in hospitals,
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Food & Beverage Magazine v September Issue
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