The Salsa is Real

And the Kids Are Alright

On the east side of Norman, there’s an unassuming storefront nestled between Donut King and Goodwill where the next generation of Oklahomans are refining their ideas and skills. And, they’re making some really good salsa.

Loveworks Leadership, Inc. is a non-profit afterschool program for middle and high school students in Norman focused on leadership and character development through the pursuit of passion projects. The organization has multiple tracks for students to try, including art, woodworking, entrepreneurship, technology, culinary arts and fashion. Loveworks even has a ball pit.

When you walk through the space, there’s controlled chaos in the atmosphere. The building practically buzzes as students get ready to work. Two days a week, students come to Loveworks after school to meet with mentors and work together on their passion projects. When they’re done working, they enjoy a free meal. The mentors and volunteers are an impressive bunch of professionals and well-known community members. One afternoon in October, Rusty Loeffler, owner of Interurban, Hunny Bunny Biscuit Co., and Packard’s New American Kitchen was casually preparing the evening meal for the students.

“Kids are sort of sidelined, and they have a perspective on the world that is completely different than the adults,” says Brent Wheelbarger, the Youth Entrepreneurship Director of Loveworks Leadership and owner of Trifecta Communications. Wheel-barger originally became involved with Loveworks to offer a tech summer camp. The camp spawned Wrist-world, an augmented reality wristband company with gaming products currently available at Love’s and On- Cue gas stations.

Real Kitchen Salsa is another Loveworks passion project that slowly grew into an actual company with students at the helm. Real Kitchen Salsa CEO Ella Teuscher is a Norman North sophomore who has been coming to Loveworks since the sixth grade. She is clearly passionate about the work she does with Real Kitchen Salsa, but acknowledges it takes a lot to be a CEO.

“We have to make sure we’re meeting regularly, keeping up [with production] and selling on the weekends,” she says. “And then I have to also manage my schoolwork.” But the hard work has been worth it. “I’ve really liked the marketing aspect of owning a business,” says Teuscher, who used to avoid starting conversations and talking to new people. “This has really helped me get out of my shell and realize that I’m doing things that I didn’t like doing before.”

Homeschooled sixth grader Zeke Campbell, who works in sales and production for Real Kitchen Salsa, echoes Teuscher’s sentiment: “I really like selling. It grows my skills for talking to adults and I’m more comfortable than I used to be.”

In addition to the two afternoons a week that most students attend Loveworks, the Real Kitchen Salsa production team also comes in on the weekends to make and package the salsa in the Loveworks certified kitchen. If the student-tended garden behind Loveworks has yielded jalapeños or tomatoes, they use those in production.

Real Kitchen Salsa comes in a variety of heat levels. The fresh salsa is available in mild and hot at select Homeland and Crest locations, and the shelf-stable jarred salsa is available in mild, medium, and hot at the Norman Farmer’s Market. The salsa is based on a recipe they perfected from one of their mentors, Phil Peterson, a chef with Sodexo.

After selling his food brokerage, Jerry Broms got involved as a mentor with Loveworks and has been helping the Real Kitchen Salsa team with the business side of things. “There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing a young person who is shy learn to meet and greet people.” Broms is a fervent believer in the value of Loveworks. “It gives them a head start for whatever path they take.”

When the students aren’t busy doing homework or making salsa, they manage their booth at the Norman Farmer’s Market or set up in-store demos at local grocery stores. And as if there wasn’t enough on their plates, the Real Kitchen Salsa team has some exciting future plans. They’re currently working on a fresh salsa verde to add to their product lineup. And more impressively, after creating a slide deck and presenting at a pitch meeting, the students are very proud to share that their salsa will soon be available at both Oklahoma Whole Foods locations!

As the organization’s name implies, even though Real Kitchen Salsa is a profitable business, it’s also a labor of love. And while it’s easy for people to complain about how no one wants to work anymore, the Real Kitchen Salsa crew has proven that’s not true at all, especially when your work is tied to your passion.

> Real Kitchen Salsa (Loveworks Leadership, Inc.), 151 12th Ave SE, Suite 100, Norman, (405) 308-9717, www.real.kitchen