It started in 2011 when our founder, Bea Gonfa built Niagara Samosa Factory to employ her daughter and individuals who faced barriers to meaningful employment.
OUR STORY
Bea Gonfa arrived to Canada in 2005 with her two children. Her first job as a newcomer to Canada was working at Tim Horton’s. While next working at a call center in Welland, she enrolled in a customs broker course in the hope of securing a job in Fort Erie.
Although she pursued her dream brokerage job for two years, it didn’t happen until a church friend promised to get her an interview. Success! Bea worked there for 12 years.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
In 2010, Bea’s daughter Mel graduated from Niagara College with a diploma in international business. Two years later, she still hadn’t been able to secure a position in that field. She was advised to narrow down her profession to accounting or economics or gain some experience, all of which was beyond her reach as a young mother.
Bea was concerned that her daughter might have to rely on social assistance or accept shift work at minimum wage to raise her child. But this was not to be.
One day, Bea was sharing her concern about her daughter with a visiting friend over tea and samosas. Could she help Mel get a referral or have any job ideas for her? “Why doesn’t she sell these amazing samosas at the market?” her friend asked. Bea asked her how they could make that happen and soon she and Mel had their first samosa stand at the Ridgeway market!
Mother and daughter combined and applied their culinary skills and business knowledge to create the Niagara Samosa Factory, selling their vegan/vegetarian samosas, soups and salads at various farmers’ markets throughout the Niagara area.
INSOW & VEGAN DELIGHT DINNERS
In December 2013, Bea co-founded the International Social Organization for Women (INSOW) and registered it as a non-profit corporation #1905676 with three main objectives:
- Providing food and education, counseling for low-income women in matters of family, faith and finance, and similar programs.
- Promoting women’s interests in all aspects of daily life.
- Providing a public forum to discuss issues affecting women in regard to social solutions for food, family, faith and finance.
In 2021, Bea and INSOW partnered with the Royal Canadian Legion in Ridgeway to host buffet-style vegan dinners once a month from November to April. INSOW uses the Niagara Samosa Factory’s kitchen; Bea is currently the head chef. The dinners drew hungry fans from as far away as Hamilton and proved to be so popular, they have now evolved into sit-down, family-style dinners twice a month, as of May 2024!
Now that Bea has retired, she is devoting herself full time to helping women AND men who are struggling with the court system or who are facing other challenges in securing gainful employment because of their background, lack of skill or experience. The kitchen, wait staff and set-up crews at these dinners are products of the programs that Bea established.
INSOW will train willing workers, teaching them how to cook, bake, pack and sell the products they make to their farmer’s markets and hosted dinners. Bakers and other workers earn while they learn, and benefit from ongoing training and skills development to enrich their work experience and future prospects.
When you order or buy food items from INSOW, attend our Vegan Delight Dinners or donate, you’re supporting our mission.
OUR LENTIL BROWNIES & BLONDIES
Our indulgent, scrumptious Niagara Samosa lentil brownies and blondies are handcrafted with love and care using the finest ingredients with no preservatives. Our vegan varieties are made without eggs, butter or no other animal product.
Whether you love chocolate brownies, prefer blondies or crave a mix of both – we offer single flavours and variety bundles so you can get exactly what you want – as a gift or to treat yourself!
You can purchase INSOW bakery products at the farmers’ markets we attend and soon online here. Thanks to your kind support, you are truly changing lives for the better.