“I never expected my Friday afternoon to suddenly be instilled with heightened passion, motivation, and commitment – even though all of these aspects are something I’ve grown accustomed to here at reSET”.

By: Diego Mas

Entering this organization just a month and a half ago, I’ve not only managed to connect with amazing individuals – coworkers and social entrepreneurs alike – but I’ve also seen their resolve in shaping Hartford, and Connecticut, into a northeastern hub of social enterprise.

By no means is this an easy task and yet reSET is making it happen. Better still, under the wing of James Woulfe, our Public Policy and Impacting Specialist, reSET allows me to move about Connecticut to interact with social entrepreneurs to learn about their business goals and social mission. It’s a pleasure to observe this growing trend in corporate practice taking shape within our state.

The Connecticut Mobile Farmers Market bus serves customers on Main Street, in West Hartford, Connecticut, on August 23, 2014.

This is where we find ourselves last Friday afternoon, the 22nd of August, 2014. Sitting in a chair in the corporate offices of Mr. Roger La Chance, the man behind the Connecticut Mobile Farmers Market, Mr. La Chance was speaking to Mr. Woulfe and myself about the potential for our state to embrace, what he calls, a “Yummy Connecticut”.

At this stage, I’ve thrown the terms, Connecticut Mobile Farmers Market and “Yummy Connecticut” at you, but what do these terms represent? Mr. La Chance currently operates a social enterprise located in Bloomfield, CT but his initiative moves on four wheels, thanks to a remodeled school bus that carries organic produce throughout the state to different venues in Connecticut – with West Hartford serving as the most recent mobile market location within the state.

Roger La Chance, sharing local green and organic products in West Hartford, Connecticut.

Mr. La Chance believes that through his mobile service, he will be able to bring in both freshly farmed produce and organic products to the counties of Connecticut, educating the public and improving their food habits. Additionally, Mr. La Chance’s efforts in social enterprise are not foreign to him nor us – just last year, Mr. La Chance was one of the recognized winners of reSET’s Social Enterprise Awards. As a result of the commitment seen by reSET regarding his business model, Mr. La Chance receives financial contributions from Farmington-based social enterprise and core partner of reSET, the Walker Group.

Much like Mr. La Chance’s green investment, social enterprise is like a growing olive tree, with an olive branch. While the Connecticut Mobile Farmers Market seeks to thrive within Connecticut by providing the public with a source to local, organic, and sustainable products that go beyond what is offered in supermarkets, social enterprise is the growing olive branch in business – providing nourishment to local communities through the beneficial fruit of social initiatives to help resolve community problem

Diego Mas is currently the Public Policy Intern at reSET, joining the community during the summer. His background includes studies in both History and Political Science, where he later became interested in learning about the impact of policy in both social entrepreneurship and business practices.