Support for Emme of Emme's Plantain Chips
Hi, my name is Emme Ekanem. I was born and raised in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. I moved to the United States in my early twenties where my husband, also from Nigeria, resided. We were blessed with four beautiful children, Diane, Eno, Nathan, and Uduak.
While raising those children, I pursued a career in nursing. I got my diploma at Kalamazoo Valley Community College while supporting my husband’s ministry. Since receiving my degree, I’ve worked as a nurse for the past four years.
I have always loved to cook and dreamed that one day I would make a living through the kitchen. But I had set that dream aside so I could help provide for my family. While doing so, I made sure that they were connected to their Nigerian roots through food. We’d eat jollof rice, fufu and egusi soup, and my favorite snack, plantains.
Plantains are a staple in Nigeria culture and have always been a major part of my life. We use plantains in many dishes because it is such a versatile food. Growing up in Nigeria, plantain chips are the equivalent to potato chips in America. While I was always happy to share this slice of Akwa Ibom with my children, I always thought about sharing it with more people.
About two years ago, the opportunity came thanks to my second son. Before a game, he decided to share our family snack, plantain chips, with his soccer team. They were so well-received he got requests to bring more! He thought that it would be a great idea to sell the chips and it was then that Emme’s Plantain Chips was born.
With renewed motivation, I took the necessary steps to be able to sell my chips commercially. I obtained a food license and found a space to make the plantain chips, using Trinity Reformed Church’s kitchen.
Through it all, I continued to work nights as a nurse while supporting the family I built in Grand Rapids and the one I left in Nigeria. Despite the challenges, our beloved family snack turned into a business.
I started selling at the Fulton Street Farmers Market, where many of you reading this now may have seen me. To say I’ve been supported is an understatement. The reception from the Grand Rapids community in my first weeks there showed that my son was right and that I could realize my dream.
That support from my family has meant a lot to me. Unfortunately, this past March 31, 2021, my husband of 35 years passed away. It came as a shock to us, and I still find it difficult to get through each day. Family has always been an important part of my life. Losing the man that I grew with for more than 30 years has been especially hard.
Making plantain chips for my community has been a blessing, but doing so without the support of my husband is difficult. While dealing with the pain of this loss, I had to decide whether I wanted to pour more time into growing this business. The challenges that are along that road are intimidating. After talking with my children, friends, and community members, I chose to keep the business going and pursue it full-time.
Even as I continue to face the challenges of mourning, Emme’s Plantain Chips have continued to grow. Because of the demand and losing the support of my husband, it’s becoming harder for me to achieve my mission of bringing my plantain chips to more people in the Grand Rapids community. With this GoFundMe, I am looking to expand my business by:
buying necessary equipment
renting a kitchen with more availability
hiring help in the plantain chip production
distributing my chips to more Grand Rapids retailers
These are big goals that hardly feel possible. But there was a time when I thought starting Emme’s Plantain Chips would be impossible, too. If there’s anything these last 18 months have taught me, it’s that it takes coming together as a community to grow something beautiful.
I wanted to bring my culture and the food I love to the place I now call home. What I value most about what I do is seeing the impact sharing my traditional food with the Grand Rapids community has. It’s great to see people enjoy food that has a special place in my life. I’m hoping to continue connecting with as many people as possible with this incredible snack.
How You Can Help
One of the biggest needs of this business is improved equipment. While I love working on making delicious plantain chips by hand, better equipment will allow me to produce more efficiently and reach even more people. This includes:
Automatic fryer: $8,500
Automatic plantain slicer: $2,000
Plantain peeler: $5,000
Walk-in cooler (pre-owned): $4,500
In the near future, I will also need a commercial kitchen to continue producing these plantain chips:
Commercial kitchen lease (6 months): $2,500/month
Finally, I would also like to hire two employees to join me in the production of Emme's Plantain Chips. Many hands make light work!
Two part-time employees (30hrs/wk, $13/hr): $18,720
GOAL: $60,000
Thank you for your support and reading my story. From my family and myself, we appreciate the love we've been shown these past few months. I hope we've inspired you as much as you've inspired us!
