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Fighting Human Trafficking in the Cocoa Bean Industry One Bite at a Time

Kenosha---Her cause is her career.

A Kenosha woman is ramping up a three-year old, home-based, fudge-making business that she calls “Sweet Impact—Confections With a Conscience.”

Kristi Wilson donates two dollars for every pound sold to organizations that fight human trafficking in the cocoa bean industry in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. In addition, she buys her raw materials from farms in Central and South America and the Caribbean, where the problem isn’t as prevalent. It’s also an area where growing conditions make the use of pesticides and fertilizers unnecessary.

On the human trafficking issue, Wilson says the major chocolate companies have been slow to respond. They signed off in 2003 on a pledge to eradicate the problem by 2008, she said in a recent "Morning Show" interview. Instead, the problem in the Ivory Coast has gotten worse.

Fudge from Sweet Impact is available at Kenosha Harbor Market and to a limited extent online at the company’s website.

Wilson is in the process of building a licensed, commercial kitchen in her Columbus Park home to be able to increase production. At the moment, Wilson is leasing Frank's Diner in downtown Kenosha to make her products during the restaurant's off hours.

By the way, her unique fudge recipe comes from the deceased mother of a close friend.

Wilson's recent appearance on Greg Berg's Morning Show is available here.

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