“I never knew that this many people across the country would support some kid from east Tennessee who wanted to feed kids in his community,” he says. To date, he has donated $170,405, which has provided 511,215 meals to east Tennessee residents in need. Cabaniss donates 100% of the profits from his vanilla sales to the Second Harvest Food Bank. Just two short years later the organization has accomplished incredible work. I just wanted to make the biggest difference that I could.” For some people that’s recycling, clean water or peace–for me that’s hunger–that’s what I want to try and stop. And we all have something that we’re passionate about. For some people it’s time, money, or whatever it is. “We all have something we can give up to help those in need. “I didn’t have any original goals or aspirations for Vanilla Feeds Tomorrow when I started, I just knew I wanted to make a difference,” he says. Cabaniss was fourteen when he founded the organization. “I knew I wanted to launch it as quickly as possible because there was a need that was growing by the day, but I also wanted to do it right so there wouldn’t have to be corrections in the future,” he says.Īfter a few months of preparation, Vanilla Feeds Tomorrow launched in May 2020. He determined what kind of bottles he would use, how he would ship them, and all the logistics involved. He started designing a website and planned how he was going to make vanilla extract. With the inspiration he needed, Cabaniss got to work. “I could make and sell this myself and donate the profits to help those in need.” “As I added the vanilla extract, it hit me,” says Cabaniss. “After watching a news clip of these overstressed food systems that people needed to survive on, I knew I wanted to help any way that I could,” says Cabaniss.Ĭabaniss was making vanilla brownies–his signature recipe–to eat later that night. When COVID started to impact people around the world and people lost their jobs, hundreds more people in the east Tennessee area became dependent on food banks. He also volunteers at his grandma’s soup kitchen in his free time.Ĭabaniss describes these small actions as a kid “snowballing” into what Vanilla Feeds Tomorrow, his nonprofit, is today. He started donating his allowance to a local food pantry to get fresh fruit and when that wasn’t available, he would donate his favorite fruit, bananas. “Seeing that at such an early age really impacted me and made me want to help in any way that I could.” They were dependent upon school breakfast, school lunches and backpack programs to survive and get through their days,” Cabaniss says. “As early as kindergarten and first grade, kids that would sit next to me would come to school hungry. He founded the nonprofit in 2020, but the teen’s determination to fight hunger in America goes back to elementary school. And through his nonprofit, Cabaniss donated the funds to provide over half a million meals to families in need. He likes to read books and play video games with his friends. Almost anything that is non-perishable is allowed, but some products require lab testing before being approved.William Cabaniss is a sixteen-year-old high school student who is class treasurer, on the track team, runs cross-country and is involved in volunteering clubs at his school. Once setup, the processor may sell as much as they want at any location. Neither the application nor inspection cost anything, but some of the extra requirements do have fees that could run into the hundreds of dollars. After applying, they must get a home inspection before starting their business. To apply, they need to create a business plan and may need to have their products tested or take an acidified foods course, depending on what they’re selling. One significant restriction is that the processor may never allow pets in their home, even if it’s only at night. North Carolina’s program has some restrictions and a relatively long application process, but once approved, home processors have a lot of flexibility on what, where, and how much they can sell. However, they have been committed to helping educate home-based food businesses for some time, and in general, the NC Department of Agriculture is much more friendly towards such producers than most states that actually have cottage food laws. Other states have specific laws in place that override the federal laws that prohibit home-based food sales, but since North Carolina has no such laws, technically their food program could get shut down at any time. North Carolina is unlike any other state, in that it has a food program for home processors, yet it does not have laws in place to allow them. North Carolina Can you legally sell food from home in North Carolina? Cottage Food Law
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