Breaking bread: Faraci Foods nourishes the Red River Métis Community
From baking bannock to supporting wildfire relief, the Faraci family business is rooted in Red River Métis pride and purpose.
Faraci Foods was established in 2014, founded as a family business in collaboration with business owner Anthony Faraci and his father, Phil Faraci.
10 Years of Sharing Culturally Significant Food
Faraci Foods is more than just a food truck. Red River Métis business owner Anthony Faraci started Faraci Foods and the Bannock Factory 10 years ago, aiming to share culturally significant food across the Homeland. Faraci has recently put his food truck to good use by feeding evacuees at the Manitoba Métis Federation's (MMF) Wildfire Evacuation Centre.
Family heritage is a huge inspiration for Faraci's business, playing a vital role in crafting the Italian and Métis-inspired menu.
"We try to keep it balanced. We do offer an Italian style menu as well as [keeping a] heavy focus on the Métis culture. [We do] bannock burgers, bannock hot dogs; the last couple weeks we've been doing a lot of hamburger stew, keeping bannock as a nice side dish," he said.
Connecting with Red River Métis Heritage
One of the goals of the Bannock Factory is to make bannock for customers who may not have a special person to make it for them, or those who are reconnecting with their Red River Métis heritage.
"It's a familiar food, a lot of families know it, a lot of people have their own recipes or variations of bannock... it was one of those things where you only have [bannock] at special gatherings or family events... it kind of led us to (ask) 'how do we maybe make it more convenient or more accessible, not just for us but for families," said Faraci.
The Bannock Factory has made the cultural staple more accessible by making Bannock in a Box - a frozen bannock product that's easy for folks to whip up quickly.
"It's a very simple bread mixture, without [freezing] it's only good on the shelf for a couple of days," said Faraci. "This is our way of sharing what our family had growing up... coming from my mom's side, [my] granny's recipe... taking that very simple recipe [that's] been around for so long and then allowing us to share it."
Expanding Nationally with Sysco Distribution
Faraci foods has been expanding; they no longer sell exclusively in Manitoba. They've been working with Sysco, a major food product distributor, to bring their Bannock in a Box across Canada.
"[We thought,] 'how do we make and bake [and] introduce it to some of these local grocery stores,'" said Faraci. "We started working with Sysco... with them, they're looking to bring a lot of these traditional foods into the marketplace. They've been bringing it into the healthcare system and food service establishments."
Foundation and Guidance: The LRCC Partnership
The growth and expansion of Faraci Foods has been an incredible 10-year journey, but it all started with Faraci, a brilliant idea, and the Louis Riel Capital Corporation (LRCC).
“A little over 10 years ago, we were working with Futurpreneur and the Louis Riel Capital Corporation as two big factors in getting [us] off the ground. Whether it be with [The LRCC's] resources, their funding opportunities, or just their guidance as to maybe what direction to take next. Without them I'm not sure if or when that would have happened, but they had a huge impact on our business.”- Anthony Faraci
The Red River Métis business owner encourages entrepreneurs and aspiring Red River Métis professionals to take a chance and connect with the LRCC. His business is one of many listed in the LRCC's new and improved Red River Métis Business Directory.
"[They're] putting on so many seminars and workshops and maybe people are afraid to take that first step... go to one of their seminars, send an e-mail, and talk to somebody... there are people out there to help, there's people out there to ask questions, and in this case the MMF provides so many different avenues," said Faraci.
Supporting the Wildfire Evacuation Centre
Faraci felt that the MMF had helped him, so when they called for businesses to help feed wildfire evacuees at the MMF's Wildfire Evacuation Centre, the answer was obvious to him.
"[I made] a couple of emails and some phone calls to the folks that I had connections with at the [Manitoba] Métis Federation [saying,] 'how do I bring in our mobile food to where you guys need this?' Which led us to come on down to the McGregor location. Stephanie (Stephanie Meilleur, MMF Emergency Response Lead) gave me a tour of what was going on there, which is a pretty neat little setup for something that you can't really plan for... we were out front bringing in meals as people showed up," he explained.
Before coming to McGregor, the Faraci Food truck was set up at the Billy Mosienko Arena, serving evacuees.
Anthony Faraci is inspired by his aunt, renowned Red River Métis photographer Rosalie Favell, who has helped their family learn about Red River Métis heritage and culture.
"[In] mid-June, we had heard that the World Central Kitchen was in Winnipeg serving meals to the evacuees and [they] were talking about the need for bannock or more traditional foods... When we heard that we packed up basically everything that we had available at the time and drove it down to the Billy Mosienko Arena," he said. "[It's] mid-August and we're [in] I think our third week here at the [Manitoba] Métis Federation, doing the same thing again working with the World Central Kitchen."
Faraci Foods continued serving wildfire evacuees until the McGregor wildfire evacuation centre closed in September.
Faraci Foods sets a strong example of how culture, community, and food meet to make a well-rounded and long-lasting Red River Métis business, serving customers with hard work, merit, and Red River Métis pride. Keep up with Faraci Foods and where their truck will be next on Facebook and Instagram.
Connect With Us
Wholesale Inquiries: Learn how to stock Bannock in a Box via Sysco distribution. Contact Wholesale Sales.
Mobile Food Logistics: Inquire about our professional mobile kitchen fleet for events or disaster relief operations. Inquire About Our Fleet.
Originally published on Le Métis.