Maplewood's 40 Dreams Catering Wins Visionary Award

40 Dreams Catering, a Maplewood-based company that creates and delivers fresh meals to senior citizens and disabled adults across New Jersey, was chosen from among 35 entrants as the winner of the Alpha Alpha Lambda “Adopt-A-Business” Visionary Award. The Visionary Award is given to a promising entrepreneur who is growing a business in a community of color, and is a collaboration between the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL) and the Alpha Alpha Lambda (AAL) Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

As the Visionary Award winner, 40 Dreams Catering will receive business capacity building and implementation support from AAL, which is a social and service organization that’s comprised of diverse professionals from a variety of industries.

“40 Dreams Catering was selected from a strong finalist pool because it’s a scalable business that has the potential to create jobs and positively impact the lives and families of New Jersey seniors and disabled adults,” says Malaney J. Hill, Chapter Officer of AAL, which is based on Newark.

Launched as a traditional caterer in 2008, 40 Dreams became the first and only independent company in New Jersey to prepare and deliver fresh meals to seniors and disabled adults in the state in 2015. It’s owned and operated by Adrienne Fudge, who lives in Maplewood and creates her menu items at a commercial kitchen facility in Fairfield.

Fudge’s recipes don’t use added sugar or salt, and include ingredients that are sourced from local New Jersey vendors and suppliers. Her menu items – which are provided for free to Fudge’s clients and are paid for by the New Jersey Long Term Services and Supports program – offer a variety of choices that can be matched to specific dietary restrictions and allergies.

“It’s an honor to be part of the IFEL Women of Color Connecting initiative, which created the opportunity for me to participate in the Alpha Alpha Lambda Adopt-A-Business competition, ” says Fudge, who is a 2018 graduate of the Rutgers Center for Urban Entrepreneurship’s Entrepreneurship Pioneers Initiative and was a 2017 Finalist in the 1010 WINS Small Business Challenge. “Alpha Alpha Lambda’s volunteers won’t just be coaching me, they’ll be learning about my business and my challenges, and then getting into the trenches to work along with me. I’m confident that their input and participation will enable me to take 40 Dreams to new heights much faster than I could on my own.”

“I’ve seen the potential in Adrienne’s business for a long time, however access to capital has been a major challenge,” says Jill Johnson, CEO of IFEL. “The innovative capacity building and implementation support from Alpha Alpha Lambda will minimize capital as a barrier to growth and can help 40 Dreams to become more fundable. We believe that our support model has huge potential to change the way that we think about growing under-resourced entrepreneurs. We appreciate the partnership of the AAL chapter in getting the Adopt-A-Business concept off the ground.”