Florence Haridan on Using Food to Find Common Ground

As an agent for social change, Florence is passionate about using her creative skills to make her community a better place. She is an enthusiastic creative force that excels at fostering collaboration and focus. Transformation of mind, body and spirit helped Florence finally lose 198 pounds and enable her to keep it off for over 15 years. She approached her weight loss as a brand makeover; she looked at every aspect of her life and sought to align them with her values. Florence leveraged her knowledge of design, branding and project management to transform her life in the same way she always did for her clients' projects, with focus, compassion and most importantly fun. Between managing Character Counts! in Jacksonville and her start-up food business Conscious Market, Florence has plenty on her plate, so we were lucky enough to grab a few minutes of her time to learn more about her projects.

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What have you enjoyed most about your work with Character Counts and Conscious Market?

I have been honored to forward the work of Character Counts here in Jacksonville, via community character discussions and Conscious Eats. What I enjoy most is the privilege of fostering diversity. Through the making and sharing of food, we learn about how different and how similar we all are. Food is a connecting force that never ceases to amaze me. When I first started working with those re-entering society after incarceration, food was a way to find a common ground. I taught about nutrition and budgeting initially, what I found and continue to, is how our humanity is revealed around the table. Our shared values are deepened as we share food memories and preferences. Creating a food company just made sense. It allows me a continual opportunity to learn about people and the world.

What has been your biggest accomplishment and setback?

Biggest accomplishment: Not giving up... well really, it is getting noticed by Oprah. She has a watch list and I'm on it. She is looking for social enterprises that are working to slow down the prison pipeline. I am working to stay on the list by creating results that are scalable. I have had to be flexible with how and what I am doing in order to learn as much as possible. The social justice issues are ridiculously complicated. As I continue to create food and feed people, I must be open to all the lessons.

Biggest fail has been trusting people I should not have. I lost some big amounts of money because of it. I now see how I must be more prudent before investing into a business relationship. As an entrepreneur, I take risks not many others would take. Some pay off, others, not so much. Being agile in the food world is critical. We initially opened as a caterer. After realizing the business was too focused on my skills, we decided to shift to packaged goods. My goal to nurture as many employees as possible is the core of the business. Being able to create a product line that has scalability is key. Our global approach to our salad dressings and toppings is a great way to bring a healthy approach to food as well as opens a dialogue about other people’s culture and back grounds. They open doors to conversations that vast.

How has your marketing experience helped you with what you do today?

My background in marketing continues to reveal the power of story to bring people together. So very often I am touched by the power of memory to reveal the values an individual holds. When we first launched Conscious Eats, we hosted several dinners that fostered dialogues about food memories. Those experiences informed our long term approach to marketing and customer engagement. As Director of User Experience at Citibank, I was able to learn how people and their emotions drove decisions. As I now work to help many understand how emotions drive all actions, I must keep clear ethically.  Our society is driven by impulse. We are very conscious of the hard sell. Our approach is ensuring that you stick to your budget and remain true to your personal goals. We listen authentically and work hard to bring you your best value for your money.

What are some of your favorite food dishes that you make at Conscious Market events?

Oh gosh, what I love the most about our food is that it is all designed to be combined with each other. I work very hard on all the dishes being happily layered upon each other. So for instance, when I do our Coriander Quinoa, it happily blends with either our Curry Chickpeas and Cabbage or our Champagne Shallot Kale Slaw.

All of our events are created to help people understand how to combine flavors at home. What we do is help people eat healthy and economically. We believe that healthy food does not have to break a budget. We advocate for investing time into food. We have helped many families drop weight and save money. It is very hard for a struggling family to afford good food. What we teach is spending time together as a family and creating meals together. Instead of watching a movie, create the week’s lunches.

What does Jacksonville need or is lacking in terms of the local food scene?

Wow, I really had to take a moment to ponder this. I think we have really come a long way in the past few years. I'm a New Yorker and so used to having any cuisine I wanted. When I moved here 23 years ago, for a job with AT&T, I remember going to the Pecan Park Flea Market and seeing people eat boiled peanuts. These days, we have several companies taking them to a whole new level. Our food truck scene rocks, Gastrofest is ever evolving and RAM is kicking it.

So what do we need, I always wanted to host a huge pot luck that you have to tell the story of the dish. How you found/created/received the recipe, evolved it, what the tradition of it is. I have been trying to find a spot to do it in - that's the key, a brewery without kitchen service probably would be best.

Finally, what is your favorite local restaurant here in Jacksonville?

Hard question. I do not really have one. I rarely go out to a restaurant, due to budget constraints. When I do go out, pizza, for example, is something I cannot cook myself at home because I do not have a proper oven for it. Joseph's on North Main St., rocks! If I want Asian, Blue Bamboo is a nice treat and Dennis is a great fella. Waffa and Mike's, in Springfield is a great lunch spot. Good value and fresh as could be...his Baba Ganoush is to die for!!