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V O L . X X I X N O. X I X 48 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine B U S I N E S S R E S O U R C E S She also accesses financial consulta- tion services with Sarah Guerette of CEI's Women's Business Center to hone her financial metrics and pro- jections for growth Harvesting the rewards roughout her startup and growth, Kerner has remained steadfastly committed to her business's values and has worked extensively to ensure her original mission of inclusive employment and supporting Maine's local food system remains the center focus for the organization. Heather currently employs 3 full-time workers and 13 part-time workers. e Good Crust have a waiting list for available apprentice- ships and have solidified workforce development partnerships with Goodwill Northern New England, Jobs for Maine's Graduates, Maine Culinary Technical Education Centers, and the Harold Alfond Workforce Development Compact. Her operation funds 150+ hours of paid workforce training for its entire workforce annually. e company is a significant purchaser of locally-grown grain, they are on track to have purchased 100,000 pounds of Maine-sourced grain in 2023 alone (this provides Maine farmers with a value-added rotation crop for 100 acres of Maine farmland). is is anticipated to be 200,000 pounds in 2024. She is a proud participant in the Farm-to- School movement to bring local, whole grain ingredients to institu- tions and now works with over 40 schools in Maine. Her diverse team gives back to the community by offering their physical space to the Winslow Mobile Food Pantry, vol- unteering to provide free fried dough to the Make a Wish Fall Festival in Canaan, and sponsoring dough for fundraising efforts of the Maine Grain Alliance. Kerner also recently applied for and won a $10k grant through CEI's Tastemaker Program, which will support a third-party audit of the Good Crust's Food Safety Plan implementation, as well as achiev- ing kosher certification, making not just her business, but the product itself more inclusive of a wider range of people. Kerner also gives back to the entrepreneurial support system that helped her hone her business skills by acting as a guest speaker in the Women's Business Center's Propeller program inspiring up and coming entrepreneurs with her journey and experience, and serv- ing as a speaker at the 2022 Better Maine Conference, hosted by Dirigo Labs, on Building Inclusive Workplaces. And Kerner is just getting started. Her current growth target is to have the Good Crust's signa- ture pizza dough in grocery stores all along the East Coast, because in Heather Kerner's book, the more people at the table, the better. Ashton Record and Leah Batt Thibault are aff iliated with Brunswick-based CEI. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E F I L E P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F T H E G O O D C R U S T F I L E P H O T O / F R E D F I E L D The Good Crust in Canaan The Good Crust founder Heather Kerner

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