Photo credit: Martine Nieder
Hodo was selected to be featured in this year’s Bay Area Urban Manufacturing Initiative (BAUMI) with a story highlighting our team member, Ana Munoz. Read her story below.
Story By: Maureen Futtner
Ana Munoz started working at Hodo – a thriving producer of organic plant-based foods in Oakland – as part of the entry-level production team in 2013. After 2 years, Ana left her job at Hodo to give birth to her third child. While Ana enjoyed working at Hodo, she decided to take a break from work to raise her children and spend time with her family.
After seven months raising her newborn, Ana missed the work and her co-workers and decided to return. Hodo welcomed Ana back to her old position and she was impressed to see how much growth had taken place at the company. Hodo had gone from a roughly 20-person business when Ana first started to now employing over 120 people, with distribution expanding Nationwide.
With Hodo’s success, Ana found that opportunities abounded. Since she first started at the company, Hodo has trained her in various departments, including packaging and, upon her return, kitchen production. Just two years after her return, Ana was promoted to Kitchen Lead, preparing Hodo’s line of ready-to-eat products.
“We’re always learning a lot here. I didn’t know anything about tofu or yuba. I didn’t know anything about food safety or working safely. Now, I have all those skills – preparation, documentation, following GMP protocols and recipes to produce various products in batches.” Ana also treasures the opportunity her job creates for her children. When she immigrated from Mexico as a teenager, Ana had a tough time adjusting to high school, to the culture, to the language. Today, she speaks with confidence and supervises a production shift at Hodo.
Launched at the 2016 Bay Area Urban Manufacturing Summit, the Bay Area Urban Manufacturing Initiative (BAUMI) is a three-year project to facilitate the creation of a well-defined and interconnected regional manufacturing ecosystem in the Bay Area. Learn more about BAUMI. Hodo is a proud supporter of BAUMI and company in West Oakland.
