Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month

AIM’s Racial Equity Fund Alumni Spotlight – Sway Soturi, Head of Table and Founder, Forest & Flour 

May, 22, 2024

The Racial Equity Fund is one of AIM’s core strategies tied to our Path to Racial Equity, and this month we are proud to spotlight Sway Soturi, Head of Table and Founder of Forest & Flour, and beneficiary of AIM’s Racial Equity Fund. Sway describes Forest & Flour as “a community and Earth-centered kitchen.” Forest & Flour makes allergen-free food from wholesome, nutritious ingredients. Their products are gluten free, dairy free, soy free, corn free, and peanut free.  

Sway founded Forest & Flour in 2019 under the name Soturi Kitchen. The business started out of Sway’s own needs for gluten free and dairy free foods. She couldn’t find delicious allergen free options without added sugar, soy, and corn filler. At the time, she was working in the fitness and wellness industry and started baking her own allergen free bread, which she shared with friends and clients.  

“Whenever I gave people the food I was making, they really liked it,” Sway recalls. “We realized, well, baking one loaf of bread for ourselves and baking two trays of bread, using up the whole oven, takes the same time.”  

Soon, Sway was baking more bread and selling it at the farmer’s market.  

In 2023, Sway applied to and was accepted into cohort 2 of AIM’s Racial Equity Fund.  

“It was really helpful not to have to think about paying stall fees for 6 months, and the additional money that was given to us helped us with the things we needed,” Sway remembers.  

AIM’s Racial Equity Fund (REF) strives to reduce barriers to market entry, by specifically supporting BIPOC farmers, food producers, and artisans who are getting started at AIM’s farmers markets. Each gift to the REF allows AIM to cover the cohort’s market registration fees, 6 months of market fees, a $1,000 stipend for any market-related costs, and a mentorship with an established market participant or Small Business Development Center advisor.  

For Sway, the support she received from the REF went beyond the fees and funding.  

“I don’t think I really realized how much of a positive impact it had on me, personally. It was evident that the financial piece was really helpful, but until I started talking to you, I didn’t realize that piece of being seen and how it was really important to me. I have my [Racial Equity Fund] certificate on a shelf in our café and I feel touched every time I see it.” 

Since Sway started Forest & Flour, the business has grown by 1,000%. Forest & Flour now has a brick-and-mortar café in Fremont and Sway is taking next steps to expand the business through a new manufacturing facility. As Forest & Flour grows, Sway is striving to “find a balance of community and profit.”  

Sway and her team have found it’s the continued connections with the people they serve that are the most beautiful and rewarding parts of their work. “Our team finds a lot of joy in seeing people gasp with surprise and delight when they find out that they’ve found foods they can eat,” Sway reports. 

“We look forward to the day that everyone has access to healthy food,” she says with conviction. “It’s a big dream but someone has to dream it and eventually it will happen.” 

You can find Forest & Flour at AIM’s Saturday Grand Lake Farmers Market in Oakland and at their cafe at 43587 Mission Boulevard in Fremont, CA. 

HELP SUPPORT THE NEXT COHORT OF AIM’s RACIAL EQUITY FUND  

We have a special matching challenge to raise $1000 during AAPI Heritage Month (May). Your gift will be generously matched by Jonathan Mi. 

AIM’s goal is to accept as many Racial Equity Fund participants as we have the funds to support each year, so please donate generously today.