More than a job: how The Raw Carrot builds purpose and independence
Around the Region regularly shares the work of different community partners. This month, we hear from Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). They are a global, nonprofit organization that works on relief, development, peacebuilding and empowering communities. MCC Ontario is based in Waterloo Region, where they support many projects – some international and some right here in our community. One local program is The Raw Carrot: a soup-making social enterprise that provides meaningful employment for people with disabilities and barriers to traditional employment.
By Ken Ogasawara, Communication Specialist, MCC Ontario
In the basement kitchen of Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church in Kitchener, pots simmer with fresh ingredients, and the scent of homemade soup fills the air. It’s here that Lucas Veenhoven has worked for over five years — a place that has become more than just his job. It’s his community.
Lucas’ mother, Dagmar, remembers the challenges that brought them here. As a young teenager, Lucas began experiencing severe anxiety, which later developed into depression. He was unable to finish high school and struggled for years to find a path forward.
“Finding work was hard,” Dagmar says. “When employers see visible mental health challenges, they often don’t want to take a risk.”
But The Raw Carrot was different.
“They look beyond barriers,” Dagmar says. “It’s an amazing organization.”
Founded in 2014 by two women from Paris Presbyterian Church, The Raw Carrot is a social enterprise that partners with churches and nonprofits specifically to create meaningful employment for people on the margins — especially those living with disabilities or mental health challenges.
The Raw Carrot site in Kitchener is owned and operated by MCC Ontario. “We have eight staff and eight volunteers who help us out as well,” says kitchen manager Lorie Yantzi. “We have a great team, we have a lot of fun and we make delicious soup!”
Staff are paid a living wage to chop, stir and package gourmet soup, which is sold to support not only the mission of The Raw Carrot, but the workers themselves. With the cost of living rising steeply, Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) payments — which tops out at $1,368 per month — are not nearly enough to cover costs.
The extra $300 a month or so that Lucas and his coworkers earn makes a huge difference. Lucas’s coworker Nick shared the joy he felt when he was able to buy a wedding gift for a friend with the extra money earned at The Raw Carrot.
For Lucas, the job has provided consistency, purpose and — most importantly — community. “He doesn’t have a lot of other relationships beyond his family,” Dagmar says. “This is more than a workplace. These are people who genuinely respect and enjoy being with him.”
In the past year, Lucas moved into his own apartment in downtown Kitchener and now walks to work — a major step toward independence that once seemed out of reach.
“He’s never missed a day of work,” Dagmar says proudly. “His self-confidence has grown so much.”
For families like Dagmar’s, The Raw Carrot is about more than soup. It’s about dignity, hope and second chances.
The soup that Lucas and his team makes at MCC is sold at all of MCC’s six thrift shops in Ontario, as well as at local grocers in Waterloo Region.
The Region of Waterloo partners with MCC Ontario on a few local programs, including the Circle of Friends and the People’s Action Group.