VEGAN MEAT AT PICKLED

Reporting, writing and photos by Ken Evans

As Akron’s food scene continues to mature and the city tries to remake itself as a friendly space for entrepreneurs, one inspiring businessman is attempting to capitalize on local programs to introduce Akronites to a more conscientious and environmentally friendly way of eating.

Scott Roger is the owner, producer and self-described “maniac” behind Picked Proteins, which creates locally produced meat alternatives for those attempting to have a more“plantbased” diet.

“I feel the hesitation to plant-based diets is that you are just going to eat salad for three meals a day,” Scott says, “and that is not at all true.”

Growing up in a largely vegetarian household, Scott has been fully vegan for almost eight years, but has never felt like this approach to eating was overly restrictive. He insists that at the end of the day, his plate looks very similar to everyone else’s.

In fact, it was a love for pizza that started him on the journey that would lead to Picked Proteins. “When I went vegan, I still wanted to have pizza. I worked in a pizzeria for seven years,” Scott says, laughing. “I have eaten a lot of pizza in my time.”

Early in his vegan transition, he was experimenting with mass-produced meat alternatives but found them lacking when it came to flavor and texture. For the quality he was receiving, and the price he was paying for big brands, he thought, “I can make this stuff at home.”

As an avid home cook, Scott began exploring recipes and learning about the process behind making meat alternatives like seitan, a protein source made from wheat gluten. Scott’s aim quickly moved beyond making a satisfying vegan pizza and he began experimenting with a range of flavors. “If people were coming over, I wanted to make something that is going to wow,” Scott says.

With increasingly successful batches, Scott started to cautiously explore the creation of a business to sell and distribute his products. Scott didn’t see himself as an entrepreneur. Still, he knew he wanted to find a role for himself that could “feed his soul” and leave a lasting impact on his community.

To start Picked Proteins, Scott leveraged entrepreneurial classes at Bounce Innovation Hub in Canal Place and learned the basics of operating a business. “I was able to crystalize a lot of research I had and understand what needed to do.”

Through Bounce, Scott says he gained advice and connections to get Picked Proteins operating. Utilizing another local entrepreneurial resource, Scott began working out of Akron Food Works, a shareduse kitchen in the Middlebury neighborhood designed to aid those starting food businesses. Akron Food Works. Ken does not work with Akron Food Works. Picked Proteins uses the Akron Food Works space but has no other relationship with The Well.

Opening in May 2020, Picked Proteins offers products ranging from pepperoni seitan to coconut “smoky bac’n” to “chick’n” shreds. Scott attempts to limit processing when it comes to his products and primarily uses only salt and vinegar as preservatives. He also tries to avoid common allergens, with the exception of gluten.

Currently, he is selling packaged products at Birch Cafe in Highland Heights, Local Roots in Wooster, and Ms. Julie’s Kitchen here in Akron. He also sells directly to local eateries like Nomz, Upper Crust Pizza, HiHo Brewing Co. and Ms. Julie’s Kitchen.

Scott emphasized that he enjoys working on a local level, helping restaurants achieve particular flavor profiles and get the product they want.

For Scott, Picked Proteins is not about evangelizing the vegan movement but giving people more options when it comes to food. Instead, it’s about making a product that people can feel good about adding to their weekly meals.

“If food is comfort, then to make someone feel comfortable trying a plant-based diet, the easiest, and best way to do it, is to offer a product that mimics what they are used to,” Scott says. making meat alternatives, Scott wants to keep a local focus. He wants people who buy his products to know him and what he stands for.

For the future, Scott is focused on developing direct shipping to customers, selling at local farmers markets, and expanding his product line to include new products like breakfast sausages and a bacon alternative. He hopes to make Picked Proteins full-time job if it proves successful.

Most importantly, though, Scott wants to ensure that Picked Proteins is not a luxury product. He is currently seeking WIC approval for his products and is working with the Junior League of Akron about possibly supplying some healthy snacks in school lunches.

Scott knows the eye-rolls that vegans and vegan products can get. Nevertheless, he is confident that his products deliver something everyone can enjoy. Knowing that his business gives Akronites more options particularly at a time when we are all being asked to think complexly about the food we eat. Offering not just flavorful alternatives to meat, but something as he put it, “that is going to make you feel better, be better for the environment, and be better for animals.”

Shop local: Picked Proteins serves up serves up vegan meat alternatives in Akron

// Ken Evans finds himself leaping from life to life, putting things right that once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.

A RADIO STATION AS UNIQUE AS YOU ARE, POWERED BY MUSIC, COMMUNITY & You

Akron Hope continues tutoring program virtually

Reporting, writing by Abbey Bashor

Even in non-pandemic times, running a classroom tutoring program is no easy feat.

Between coordinating student and volunteer schedules, and creating weekly practice assignments, there’s a great deal of organizing that must take place before lessons can even begin.

Over the past year, COVID-19 has made these efforts more challenging and more important than ever. A lack of face-to-face instruction has raised concerns about the effect on student outcomes and potential learning losses. Supplemental instruction, such as tutoring, has also taken a hit.

Thanks to programs like Akron Hope; however, the goal of helping local students reach their benchmarks remains a priority.

Akron Hope, now a program of The Well CDC, was founded by Jen Vliet while she was a student at the University of Akron in 2015. Following the sudden loss of her cousin, Chad Cooke, the previous year, Vliet was looking for ways to get involved in the Akron community.

Before long, she thought to establish the local chapter of Charleston Hope — a nonprofit founded by Chad’s girlfriend, Emily Hoisington, that provided resources to teachers in underserved districts in Charleston, S.C. Vliet knew the couple had wanted to expand the program to other cities and jumped at the chance to bring it to Akron.

“I said ‘yes’ to expanding Charleston Hope to Akron and we started with the Adopt-a-Classroom program, which provided gifts to students during the holidays,” Vliet says of the program’s early start. “We chose Helen Arnold [Community Learning Center] specifically because I had already been tutoring there with a program called Seeds of Change and had built some relationships within the school.”

The need for a tutoring program first became apparent when Vliet was at UA, where she was pursuing a degree in education and spending time in local elementary classrooms. Around 2015, Vliet met Melissa Berzito, a third-grade teacher new to Helen Arnold. Vliet and her Akron Hope team learned from Berzito that classroom volunteers would make a huge difference in helping prepare students for state testing.

“Being my first year teaching third grade, and with third grade being a testing year, I was a little nervous,” says Berzito. “I reached out to Jen to ask her if she maybe knew a few people who might want to work with my students, just in a small group, to help them get ready for the test. In a matter of a month she had gathered about 10-15 volunteers to come in every week, which was so much more than I ever expected.” Sherbondy Hill.

Each semester for the last six years, Berzito has welcomed volunteers into her classroom to work with students. For 10-12 weeks, an hour every Friday is dedicated to one-on-one tutoring and mentorship.

“It has really helped my class be able to pass the test and do well. They form great friendships,” says Berzito. “I could say something a million times about the best way to take a test or some test-taking strategies, and as soon as their mentor would say it, they remember it.”

Berzito also explains why third grade is such a critical year for students: About 80% of students at Helen Arnold enter the year with a belowgrade reading level, some even at a kindergarten or first-grade level. The Ohio State Test (OST) that they must pass in order to move on to fourth grade is written at a fifth grade level for English Language Arts. The gap that must be overcome is significant.

The challenges that some students face outside the classroom are no less daunting.

“They don’t always have somebody with them at all times, helping them with their homework or able to read to them. Sometimes books are inaccessible,” says Berzito. “Sometimes the encouragement is not necessarily there at home. It’s just kind of survival mode. So passing a test is the last thing on their minds.” up for a great deal of what might otherwise be lost.

“When [students] are able to get all of that out of their heads and spend an hour with their mentor, it’s almost like they’re OK. It’s OK to be a kid again, and it’s OK to just learn and do well.”

The program is popular not just among third-graders, but also younger and older students.

“The younger kids see it and they can’t wait to get to third grade. And then the older kids see it, and they miss being with their mentor because they’ve moved on,” says Berzito.

After a few years, Akron Hope became a program of The Well CDC. As a community development corporation, The Well focuses on housing, economic and place-making initiatives in Middlebury.

Akron Hope began its outreach at Mason CLC in Middlebury in fall 2018, with the intention of building relationships with students, families and teachers to provide resources and support.

One of these supports was a version of the classroom tutoring program Vliet had developed at Helen Arnold CLC.

Outreach at Mason involved these efforts but also included things like community events that provide resources to help encourage family engagement at the school, and the Hope Closet, where students had

When Akron Hope became a program of The Well three years ago, it was clear that engagement would need to take place year-round. In becoming The Well’s community engagement coordinator, Vliet knew the importance of offering support in tangible ways.

“We’re not an organization that’s going to come in and do something to you,” she explains. “[Instead], we respond to need and base programming off working with the people who make up the places we serve.”

This year, the program has had to adapt to a new format. After classes went remote last March, spring semester tutoring at both Helen Arnold and Mason was cut short in the last few months of the 2020 school year.

Vliet says there was a lot of uncertainty last May and June as schools deliberated a return to the classroom. Eventually, when Akron Public Schools decided to continue remote learning into the new school year, it was clear that Akron Hope needed to pivot.

Helen Arnold began its virtual tutoring program last September, utilizing Google Meet to connect teachers, students and volunteers.

Over a video call, students and tutors spend an hour on Friday mornings practicing reading comprehension skills as they read passages and answer questions together. Students use a software called i-Ready, which allows them to complete online reading assessments as tutors follow along through a screen-sharing feature.

Vliet acknowledges that while in-person tutoring is certainly the preferred method, the virtual experience has offered some new perspectives.

“We truly couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers,” she says. “We’ve learned that people are interested in volunteering virtually. The ability to meet people in their homes or workplaces or wherever they are on Friday mornings has opened our eyes to the ways that we can utilize volunteers.”

Berzito adds, “The mentors have been so wonderful and patient, as well as the students. Getting students into a breakout room with their mentors is not always easy, but everyone shows up every single week ready to work and ready to help. And these third graders don’t feel like they’re missing out on their Akron Hope experience because they’re still able to get it, even if it’s not in person.”

In the six years since Akron Hope’s tutoring program began, it has continued to prove its value. At Mason, the program is implemented for fourth grade students rather than third graders, though the school decided to optout of the virtual program for the time being.

The Helen Arnold program now covers two third-grade classrooms, with 99% of students having advanced to fourth grade per Ohio’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee. At Mason, fourth grade Individualized Education Program (IEP) student test scores increased by 60% and overall scores increased by 9% within the program’s first year.

Over her six years at Helen Arnold, Berzito has never had to hold a student back. She says this is a testament to Akron Hope’s impact.

“I hope the students just really understand how many cheerleaders they have in their corner. Not only do they have their mentor, and me, and our principal, but they [also] have 15 or 20 classmates all rooting for them to do well,” she says. “There have been times when tears have been brought to my eyes because I’ll walk around and just hear the conversations the mentors and students have with each other. They truly are on their side and want them to do well.”

Vliet says she wants to see Akron Hope continue to reach students no matter the circumstance. “My hope is that we continue to invest intentionally at both schools. The deeper we invest relationally, the more depth we’ll be given and the more resources we are able to provide.”

When it comes to volunteers, Vliet also says she’d like to see the volunteer base diversify. “We want to have volunteers who look like the students and families we’re serving. Continuing to recruit and engage people of color, getting more male volunteers involved and diversifying in all age levels is important.” program and The Well’s placemaking initiatives. In the Middlebury neighborhood, and at schools like Mason, high transiency rates mean students are moving frequently and are therefore less likely to build school and community connections. This can correlate to lower academic achievement.

“With The Well’s housing initiative to create and restore homes in the neighborhood, our hope is that as we continue to intentionally invest our time and resources at schools like Mason, we can then get families into stabilized homes and connect them to other community resources,” she says. “As we continue to build relationships, our hope is that we will better be able to serve families and their needs, and bring even more community resources to the schools.”

To learn more about The Well and Akron Hope, visit thewellakron. com/akronhope or follow @ AkronHope on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. For volunteer opportunities or more information on programming, contact Jen Vliet

at jen@thewellakron.com.

// Abbey Bashor is an Akron native currently caught between the charm of the Midwest and the lure of the big city. She is a freelance writer who enjoys covering community engagement, politics and pop culture.