Posted on 01/12/2024 9:08:55 AM PST by Twotone
A Vermont-based baking company is under fire for hosting a competition that barred white contestants from participating, an attempt to “foster greater inclusivity” in the world of baking.
The 2024 Baking Pitchfest, hosted by King Arthur Baking, says it will provide “equitable opportunities for People of Color entrepreneurs,” gracing the winners with “financial support, brand exposure, and mentorship to help accelerate their businesses.”
The competition is billed as an “accelerator program,” and will consist of two parts, a product edition and a bakery edition, which are limited to those defined as a “person of color led business” and a “person of color led bakery” respectively.
Winners of the baking edition will receive a grand prize of $10,000, “brand-building exposure through features on King Arthur Baking marketing,” as well as one-on-one business consulting and a free membership to the Bread Bakers Guild of America.
King Arthur Flour specifies their use of the term “POC” or “people of color,” explaining that the phrase is “defined as Asian or Pacific Islander; Black or African American; Hispanic or Latinx; Indigenous or Native American; Middle Eastern or North African.”
King Arthur appeared to take down the page advertising the contest following an inquiry from The Daily Wire.
The competition comes as institutions across the country, from multi-billion dollar corporations to Ivy League universities, embrace the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda, adopting discriminatory practices and policies in the name of anti-racism.
“Pitchfest 2024 is a testament to our commitment to fostering a more inclusive baking community and empowering creative POC leaders in the industry,” King Arthur Baking’s corporate social responsibility manager Molly Lawerence remarked.
King Arthur Flour is hosting the competition in cooperation with Project Potluck, which refers to itself as “the largest professional community inclusively for People of Color (POC) in Consumer Packaged Goods.” Business Insider praised the organization’s attempts at “lifting up minorities in the overwhelmingly white consumer goods and food industry.”
Project Potluck also decries the status of the industry on its website, remarking that “founders, leaders and professionals are overwhelmingly white” but reassuring that “we are here to change that.”
“Baking Pitchfest 2024 is more than a competition; it’s a platform for empowering People of Color to break barriers and redefine the narrative in baking,” the organization’s executive director Kathleen Casanova stated.
King Arthur Baking and the Baking Pitchfest have since been blasted online by customers, with one former customer going viral after saying she would no longer be buying flour from the company.
King Arthur Baking did not respond to a request for comment.
THEY DIDN’T LEARN ANYTHING FROM BUD LIGHT, DID THEY????
But wait, I thought the dims were bringing in all of the illegals to do the job that white people won't do in the food industries. How can it be "overwhelmingly white" when according to restaurant demographics
49% of restaurant and foodservice employees are minorities – compared to 38% of employees in the total U.S. employed labor force.
I’ve tried to find an email address to send my thoughts on this to King Arthur, but was unsuccessful. Anyone have an email address?
Only liberals think they can be inclusive by excluding people. I thought lefties were against class warfare.
“Dindu Muffins”
You win the thread!
Too bad. They have good quality stuff, but no more. From now on, it will be New Hope Mills in Auburn NY.
Here is the Facebook page. They are deleting all negative comments.
Here’s the reply I received from them:
“We’re sorry to hear that this doesn’t sit well with you and you feel compelled to go elsewhere.
Helping build joyful, equitable communities that celebrate diversity is an important part of who we are as a company. It’s important to acknowledge that underrepresentation of People of Color in the agricultural and food distribution systems is a result of systematic exclusion for many centuries. There are also industry-specific barriers that POC face, including hiring bias, networking and knowledge gaps, lack of access to capital for diverse founders, and more. Baking Pitchfest is a platform that offers People of Color the connections, resources, and access they need to be successful. I hope this explanation provides some insight into the reasons behind this project.
Please know that we’ll be here and hope there’ll come a day when you feel ready to rejoin our community. We love baking with anyone and everyone. Our simple expectation is that everyone show respect for one another.”
there was one of these cooking contests on tv...the white guy cut his finger and was bleeding....he was disqualified immediately....within two minutes the black guy cut his finger and was bleeding....not a word...he was allowed to continue....
yes no pleasingly brown people please..
I got my email response from them.
Hi ,
We’re sorry to hear that this doesn’t sit well with you and you feel compelled to go elsewhere.
Helping build joyful, equitable communities that celebrate diversity is an important part of who we are as a company. It’s important to acknowledge that underrepresentation of People of Color in the agricultural and food distribution systems is a result of systematic exclusion for many centuries. There are also industry-specific barriers that POC face, including hiring bias, networking and knowledge gaps, lack of access to capital for diverse founders, and more. Baking Pitchfest is a platform that offers People of Color the connections, resources, and access they need to be successful. I hope this explanation provides some insight into the reasons behind this project.
Please know that we’ll be here and hope there’ll come a day when you feel ready to rejoin our community. We love baking with anyone and everyone. Our simple expectation is that everyone show respect for one another.
Kind regards,
(800) 827-6836
Kingarthurbaking.com
{#HS:2474904856-642766#}
I do not support companies that discriminate against people because of their skin colour, religion, ethnicity or race.
Your act of racial discriminates to not allow people of European descent, because of their skin colour causes me to not want to purchase any of your products now or in the future.
Very unfortunate that your company has retread 1950 attitudes, with the only difference is the skin colour that you have chosen to discriminate against.
Do they have any idea how stupid this is? Are they limited to using black flour?
POC = “Asian or Pacific Islander; Black or African American; Hispanic or Latinx; Indigenous or Native American; Middle Eastern or North African.”
It’s cliche to ask the reaction to, how about doing the opposite. There are far too many black Americans playing in the NBA. The NBA is sponsoring a competition with cash prizes exclusively for People of White.
How about if they 3/4 white, or 1/2 or 1/4. You know like the Nazis did to Jewish Germans before WW2.
More liberal insanity from their website:
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/impact/food-justice
Not sure if I have ever bought their stuff, but will definitely avoid it in the future.
“It’s important to acknowledge that underrepresentation of People of Color in the agricultural and food distribution systems is a result of systematic exclusion for many centuries.”
“The soft bigotry of low expectations.” Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Have they never read about George Washington Carver?
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