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Faith Leads Entrepreneur to Launch All-Natural Food Company
Gerald Hawkins, the founder of G&H Foods, Inc., is passionate about all-natural foods
made without preservatives, phosphates or fruitose.
"You look at the health of the people of this country - men, women and children. You
see obesity, diabetes, heart disease and a nation in real trouble. It is costing us billions
of dollars as a nation, it is costing us our health, our quality of life, our very lives. We
need pure food - food made the way our ancestors cooked with all-natural ingredients
made with patience, love and care," Hawkins says.
After a successful career as a Federal employee, Hawkins retired several years ago
and slowly began to devote himself to his other passion - food. "It was never planned,
I just started cooking in my own kitchen, experimenting, just having fun."
What began with a bumper crop of tomatoes and peppers from Hawkin’s garden soon
evolved into a cottage industry. Several summers ago the native East Tennessean
didn’t know what to do with the bounty of his garden. One day his Hispanic son-in-law
suggested having a "salsa-making party" much like Hispanic families have done for
generations in Mexico and South America.
"I invited my family over, and we had a huge party, making salsa for the whole clan
based on a 100-year-old recipe that had been passed down in my son-in-law’s family,"
Hawkins recalls. Yet, the resulting salsa was too hot for the average American’s palate.
Hawkins began experimenting with the recipe until he came upon the perfect blend of
fresh tomatoes, onions, peppers and spices. The result was wonderful. Hawkin’s son-
in-law declared it "tasted like summertime," and a new brand was born.
Within two years Hawkins had given away 800 to 1,000 jars of his Salsa. Family and
friends urged him to begin producing and selling his Summertime® Gourmet Salsa for
profit. Hawkins began to seriously consider marketing his Salsa, but as a second
career he was more concerned with helping others than making money.
"I prayed a lot about what to do. God was leading me to make Summertime® Gourmet
Salsa so I could help the people of upper East Tennessee and provide a healthy
alternative to all the artery clogging, high-fruitose, unhealthy snacks on the market. I
always knew it would be successful because it tastes better than anything else
available and because God was the force that led me to this leap of faith," Hawkins
recalls.
Soon Hawkins found the Jubilee Kitchen in Hancock County, Tennessee, near the
Grainger County border. Created in part by grants from the Tennessee Valley
Authority and the Methodist Church, the FDA-approved kitchen was designed to
stimulate economic growth in a region hemorrhaging jobs. In February 2004 the
County’s largest employer left the region for Mexico and took 150 good-paying jobs
with it. It was the largest employer to join a growing trend.
Hawkins wants to help create more jobs and economic opportunity by processing his
Summertime® Gourmet Salsa in the community. His mother had grown up in the
region, and he felt a quiet pride and responsibility for the area. His long-term goal is to
build a tomato-processing plant in the area to process the world-famous Grainger
County tomato. He buys Grainger County tomatoes when they are available, but must
also supplement the regional vegetables with tomatoes from other areas when
necessary.
"We’ve got some of the best tomatoes grown in the world, right here in East
Tennessee," Hawkins brags, "but there is no processing plant to make products from
these wonderful tomatoes. The region has proven they can grow great tomatoes, now
let’s take it a step further and show we can create wonderful products made from
these tomatoes." And that is just what Hawkins is doing.
While his company is only two years young, Hawkin’s products are now sold in the
Fresh Market across the Southeast and in East Tennessee Ingles stores. Hawkins
wants to make his all-natural products available to the rest of the nation too. "All I’ve
gotta do is get people to taste it. Once I get it in their mouth, they love it. It’s that good,"
he says.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2004 Summertime Products, All Rights Reserved.
Gerald Hawkins, the founder of G&H Foods, Inc., is passionate about all-natural foods
made without preservatives, phosphates or fruitose.
"You look at the health of the people of this country - men, women and children. You
see obesity, diabetes, heart disease and a nation in real trouble. It is costing us billions
of dollars as a nation, it is costing us our health, our quality of life, our very lives. We
need pure food - food made the way our ancestors cooked with all-natural ingredients
made with patience, love and care," Hawkins says.
After a successful career as a Federal employee, Hawkins retired several years ago
and slowly began to devote himself to his other passion - food. "It was never planned,
I just started cooking in my own kitchen, experimenting, just having fun."
What began with a bumper crop of tomatoes and peppers from Hawkin’s garden soon
evolved into a cottage industry. Several summers ago the native East Tennessean
didn’t know what to do with the bounty of his garden. One day his Hispanic son-in-law
suggested having a "salsa-making party" much like Hispanic families have done for
generations in Mexico and South America.
"I invited my family over, and we had a huge party, making salsa for the whole clan
based on a 100-year-old recipe that had been passed down in my son-in-law’s family,"
Hawkins recalls. Yet, the resulting salsa was too hot for the average American’s palate.
Hawkins began experimenting with the recipe until he came upon the perfect blend of
fresh tomatoes, onions, peppers and spices. The result was wonderful. Hawkin’s son-
in-law declared it "tasted like summertime," and a new brand was born.
Within two years Hawkins had given away 800 to 1,000 jars of his Salsa. Family and
friends urged him to begin producing and selling his Summertime® Gourmet Salsa for
profit. Hawkins began to seriously consider marketing his Salsa, but as a second
career he was more concerned with helping others than making money.
"I prayed a lot about what to do. God was leading me to make Summertime® Gourmet
Salsa so I could help the people of upper East Tennessee and provide a healthy
alternative to all the artery clogging, high-fruitose, unhealthy snacks on the market. I
always knew it would be successful because it tastes better than anything else
available and because God was the force that led me to this leap of faith," Hawkins
recalls.
Soon Hawkins found the Jubilee Kitchen in Hancock County, Tennessee, near the
Grainger County border. Created in part by grants from the Tennessee Valley
Authority and the Methodist Church, the FDA-approved kitchen was designed to
stimulate economic growth in a region hemorrhaging jobs. In February 2004 the
County’s largest employer left the region for Mexico and took 150 good-paying jobs
with it. It was the largest employer to join a growing trend.
Hawkins wants to help create more jobs and economic opportunity by processing his
Summertime® Gourmet Salsa in the community. His mother had grown up in the
region, and he felt a quiet pride and responsibility for the area. His long-term goal is to
build a tomato-processing plant in the area to process the world-famous Grainger
County tomato. He buys Grainger County tomatoes when they are available, but must
also supplement the regional vegetables with tomatoes from other areas when
necessary.
"We’ve got some of the best tomatoes grown in the world, right here in East
Tennessee," Hawkins brags, "but there is no processing plant to make products from
these wonderful tomatoes. The region has proven they can grow great tomatoes, now
let’s take it a step further and show we can create wonderful products made from
these tomatoes." And that is just what Hawkins is doing.
While his company is only two years young, Hawkin’s products are now sold in the
Fresh Market across the Southeast and in East Tennessee Ingles stores. Hawkins
wants to make his all-natural products available to the rest of the nation too. "All I’ve
gotta do is get people to taste it. Once I get it in their mouth, they love it. It’s that good,"
he says.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2004 Summertime Products, All Rights Reserved.