Dayton baby food maker brings healthy options

DAYTON, Ohio — It's no secret that small businesses were hit especially hard during the pandemic.

Cities across the country are finding ways to invest and spend their federal COVID relief funds.

The city of Dayton has awarded business owners micro-grants to help than flourish.

"I always tell people, God put this in my lap," said Kourtney Terry, owner of Taste-T-Love Baby Food, as she cut up fresh peaches.

She started her business right before the pandemic.

"My American Dream was, climb the ladder, be an executive, make money, blah blah blah," she said.

When Terry was working in the corporate world, she and her husband were also raising three children.

"Trying to juggle being a mom, making baby food, going to after-school events, doing all the things, and I started getting depressed," she said.

Terry was forced to dig deep to find her true passion.

"Food has always been a first passion of mine and I always wanted to make sure my family gets the healthiest options possible," she said.

Turns out a lot of parents were in the same boat.

Making baby food can be time-consuming and not every family has access to healthy options.

"There's no water added, no sugars, no additional anything added," said Terry as she mixed carrots in her steamer.

Along with selling her own baby food online, she now provides baby food for nine child care centers, many on Dayton's west side.

"A lot of people who send their children to child care centers, at least over half of them, use government assistance to send their kids there. And a lot of child care centers get reimbursed for the food that they give their kids," she said.

Taste-T-Love was one of the first businesses to receive a micro-grant from the city's resiliency fund.

Being able to get new equipment has kicked the kitchen up a notch.

Once the food is pureed, it goes into pouches.

"We’re getting a new freezer just like this one here, a couple new blenders, we’re getting some other items that will help to make this space more efficient. It meant a lot. It came at the right time for sure," said Terry.

From the moment Kourtney steps into the Farmers Market or the store, she's already thinking about food quality. Once pureed, each pouch is put into the refrigerator within 10 minutes. Each pouch also has a full nutritional label and you can see inside the pouch, so schools and parents know exactly what's going into the baby food. Each pouch also has a sealed lid to ensure freshness.

Terry is expecting more child care center orders and eventually hopes to hire some staff to help.

Starting her business and keeping it going hasn't been easy, but her passion for the access to healthy food is what keeps her going.

"Whatever it is that you’re passionate about, do it, and don't give up when it gets hard," she said with a smile.

Money from Dayton's Resiliency Fund is used to help black and brown minority businesses.

There are three tiers of grants, ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.

So far, more than 30 businesses have been awarded funding.

The Miami Valley Urban League is expected to hand out more than 550 grants to businesses around Dayton.