In this episode of Common Roots, we hear from Diana Hicks, Co-founder of Mama Jean’s Natural Market in Springfield, MO. Since its founding in 2002, Mama Jean’s Natural Market has strived to give back to their community in the Ozarks and be a consistent source of clean products their shoppers can feel good about. What began as one store location in the college-town area of Springfield has grown to 3 store locations, each with its own unique shopper demographic.
“We never dreamed in a million years that we would have 3 stores,” Diana says, “But we were so well received that we couldn’t keep our shelves stocked.” Although Mama Jean’s faces corporate competition, Diana says that this also gives them a unique advantage. “We find it works better if we’re by a conventional store. Because if they don’t have something, folks can just stop by Mama Jean’s.”
Mama Jean's Storefront
Beyond their commitment to providing affordable, healthy food to their community, Mama Jean’s also gives back through their Change for Change program. “Once you’re an established business, you have these people contacting you. Can you sponsor my kid’s baseball team? And so on,” she says. “It’s hard to say no. So, we came up with this Change for Change Program.”
One of the most impactful projects Mama Jean’s took on through the program was brought up by Co-Founder Susie Kawamoto’s daughter. “She was working with us at the time,” Diana says, “and she said, Mom I want to build a tiny home for the unhoused. We found this local charity, Eden Village, and loved what they were doing so we made Eden Village the sole recipient of our Change for Change Program.”
In only 3 years, Mama Jean’s raised $35,000 dollars to build a tiny home for their community members. “I get choked up sometimes when I talk about it,” Diana says, “We’re very proud of that achievement.”
Diana Posing with Change for Change Recipient from The Doula Foundation
Mama Jean’s is also a women-owned business, and Diana founded the store in 2004 with her friend Susie Kawamoto. The store’s name is a tribute to both Diana and Susie’s mothers. “Susie’s niece called her grandma Mama Jean, and I always called my mom Mama… we lost Jean last year and that was hard on everyone. And I lost my mom back in 2012, but they still live on through Mama Jean’s.”
Diana says that she has learned a lot of hard lessons through running a small business, but her overall philosophy is fairly simple. “We just decided early on that we were going to put our staff and customers before business. If you’ve got happy customers and happy employees, then the business pretty much takes care of itself.”
Listen to the full episode here.
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