Industry Ignited Podcast: Spreading the Mission of Innovative Workplace Practices
We're excited to share that Rhino Foods Foundation was recently featured on the Industry Ignited podcast, hosted by Dr. Leeanne Lowe Aguilar. Our Executive Director, Christina Blunt, and Board Member Justin Worthley sat down for an in-depth conversation about the work we're doing to transform workplaces across the country.
Why This Conversation Matters
The Industry Ignited podcast shines a light on leaders and organizations transforming the way business is done—not just for profit, but for people. This episode dives deep into what makes our approach different: we're not interested in corporate social responsibility as a PR exercise. Instead, we're focused on addressing systemic challenges that employees face and building programs that create real, measurable impact.
In this conversation, Christina and Justin explore:
The origins of the Income Advance Program: How a single employee's request evolved into a national model now used by over 300 businesses
The Employee Exchange Program: Rhino’s creative solution to seasonal staffing that maintains workforce stability year-round
Real stories of impact: From employees building credit for the first time to buying homes and achieving financial stability
The business case: Why these programs aren't just "nice to have" but essential for addressing retention, productivity, and workforce stability
How to get started: Practical guidance for employers who want to bring these innovative practices to their own workplaces
Listen to the Full Episode
Whether you're a business leader exploring new approaches to employee support, an HR professional seeking solutions to retention challenges, or simply someone who believes workplaces can be forces for good, this conversation offers both inspiration and actionable guidance.
The full interview transcript is below, but we encourage you to listen to the podcast to hear the passion and authenticity in these stories.
Ready to Learn More?
If you're interested in bringing programs like Income Advance or Employee Exchange to your workplace, we're here to help. Visit our resources page or contact us to start the conversation.
Full Interview Transcript
Dr. Leeanne Lowe Aguilar: Welcome to Industry Ignited, where we shine a light on leaders and organizations transforming the way business is done, not just for profit, but for people. Today's episode is about rethinking the workplace as more than a paycheck. It's about building systems and programs that create true opportunity, stability, and dignity for every employee.
Joining me are two incredible guests from Rhino Foods Foundation: Christina Blunt, Executive Director, and Justin Worthley, Board Member and seasoned HR operations and organizational leader. Christina is a social impact professional whose career spans the Middle East, West Africa, and the US, helping nonprofits and international NGOs build capacity, strengthen partnerships, and ensure operational excellence. She has led humanitarian capacity development programs, designed wraparound services for families facing financial insecurity, and has been a driving force behind initiatives that bridge businesses and social impact.
Justin brings decades of experience guiding purpose-driven organizations through transformation. He's worked directly with owners and leadership teams since 2003, leading change efforts, building high-performance cultures, and aligning business strategy with people strategy. His work is rooted in the belief that performance and purpose multiply each other for greater impact.
At the heart of today's conversation is Rhino Foods Foundation's mission: spreading innovative workplace practices that champion employee financial stability and make good business sense. From their groundbreaking Income Advance loan program to their creative Employee Exchange program, Rhino Foods has pioneered solutions that improve retention, productivity, and employee well-being, inspiring companies nationwide to follow their lead.
We'll talk about how these programs started, how they work, the measurable impact they've had, and what it takes for other businesses to adopt similar models.
Christina, Justin, welcome to Industry Ignited.
Justin Worthley: Great to be here.
Christina Blunt: Thank you so much.
Leeanne: Christina, let's start with you. Your background spans humanitarian work overseas, program design and public health, and now leading the Rhino Foods Foundation. What drew you to this mission?
Christina: Thanks so much for having us, Leeanne. What struck me about the Foundation and its mission, particularly the Income Advance program, was that it felt like such a unique approach to corporate social responsibility. I think most of what makes up that category of practices can either feel like a PR exercise or an effort to repair something the business is extracting from the community.
What the Foundation and Rhino Foods were doing felt more like rectifying a problem on behalf of employees—understanding that there are systemic challenges employees face and that businesses have an opportunity to help ease those challenges and create new systems. I'd never encountered a business looking to do that before, let alone to scale that approach to other businesses.
Leeanne: So the approach of listening to employees and meeting their needs instead of fulfilling some kind of societal obligation is what really makes this initiative different.
Christina: Yes, it felt more than transactional. It felt like a response out of a sense of community and solidarity.
Leeanne: Justin, you've spent years driving operational and cultural change in purpose-driven organizations. What was it about Rhino's approach that inspired you to join the board?
Justin: I'll build on Christina's thoughts. Rhino is an incredibly authentic organization that's not interested in just putting money out into the community. They're deeply invested in their business practices and seek to integrate purpose within the core way they approach their work—whether with suppliers, customers, or their workforce. There's a high level of integrity and authenticity that makes Rhino one of the best role models of making purpose come alive on a day-to-day basis, not just as an afterthought or philanthropic exercise.
I also had a personal connection—I was there when the Income Advance practice got off the ground. I was at Rhino from about 2006 to 2011, initially in an HR Director role and then as General Manager.
Leeanne: For listeners who may not know Rhino Foods' history, can you share how the company's culture and values laid the foundation for creating the nonprofit?
Justin: Rhino's been around since the 1990s, started by Ted Castle, who's still the owner. It's now in second-generation leadership with his son Rooney Castle as president and CEO. Rhino is primarily an ingredient manufacturer for the ice cream industry—they make cookie dough and other pieces that go into packaged ice cream. In partnership with Ben & Jerry's, they were the first company to figure out how to make cookie dough for packaged ice cream on an industrial scale.
But central to Ted's mission from the beginning was innovative workplace practices and a real commitment to the workforce and purpose. Rhino's stated purpose is to impact the manner in which business is done—not just make great products, but do business in a way that's innovative and creates a strong internal culture.
Leeanne: So to spread that culture and give other companies the opportunity to get involved, they created the Rhino Foods Foundation?
Justin: Yes, absolutely. Christina, you want to jump in there?
Christina: Rhino had been building these practices and was very vocal about what it was learning. Joining the B Corp community in 2013 was a catalyst for spreading those practices beyond Rhino and Vermont. The director of HR and Ted Castle were getting lots of requests for information, to speak, to share the practices.
In 2018, that was the tipping point where they felt this had become its own thing. They spun this capacity-building work off into its own nonprofit so others could share in the mission and it could have its own legs while the business continued delivering cookie dough.
Leeanne: So it expanded organically and developed into something they wanted to formalize with programs so others could benefit.
Christina: Exactly.
Leeanne: One of the most recognized initiatives is the Income Advance Loan Program. How did this idea first come about and what problems were you trying to solve?
Christina: I'll let Justin take this because he was there when it piloted within Rhino Foods.
Justin: It was pretty simple. An employee at Rhino had a situation where he needed some money and asked Ted, who was there in a day-to-day role, if he could get an advance on his paycheck. Ted came to me and asked if I could help figure that out. It was sort of an unadvertised thing that Ted had a big heart and would help people when they needed it.
I stumbled into some internal logistical challenges around doing that—there wasn't really a structure. We pulled it off internally, but then I happened to bump into Bob Morgan at North Country Federal Credit Union while doing personal banking. I mentioned we'd had this situation and asked if they had any public-facing products we could connect the employee with.
It was great timing. Bob said they didn't, but he was working on a pilot program to combat predatory payday lending as part of the credit union's community outreach. We decided to partner up and created the first income advance loan. Rhino was essentially underwriting or vouching for the employee, but the loan was through the credit union. In return, the credit union waived the typical credit check, so it was basically automatically guaranteed.
At the same time, several of us at Rhino were engaged in a training curriculum called Bridges Out of Poverty, based on Ruby Payne's book. It was a breakthrough to realize we weren't just making a loan available—we were meeting people where they were and helping address a chronic unmet need. Many employees would experience some financial crunch and didn't have access to financial products or didn't seek them out.
By stepping in with that relationship, we helped build trusted relationships between employees and lenders. Since then, there have been countless stories of people taking out additional loans, building or repairing their credit, and moving on to other lending products many of us use daily.
Another key feature was turning the loan into a savings program. The person handling payroll joked she was just lazy and didn't want to turn off the deduction, but once the loan was repaid through payroll deduction, the deduction stayed in place and flowed into a savings account. People could turn it off, but the vast majority leave it on. It captures people in a moment of crisis and converts it into a savings opportunity. So many people would say, "I've never saved money before in my life, and thank you for making this so easy." Through a series of steps, we move from crisis to more planful financing.
Leeanne: So the program provides emergency loans, encourages savings, and helps build credit. Can you walk us through the process from an employee's perspective? Are there requirements?
Christina: The loan is intended to be as frictionless as possible. We want it to be easy to use and judgment-free. There's a whole category of people who don't have access to safe, reliable, non-predatory emergency funding. The latest data shows something like 36% of Americans don't have $400 in cash or equivalent for an emergency expense. A third of the population can't cover a minor car repair.
There's not a real financial incentive for lenders to make these small-dollar loans, so people end up putting expenses on credit cards or taking payday loans. Our position, carrying forward Rhino's position, is this is just a fact of life. It's not our job to police how you use your money or make decisions about what loans are for. That was a big part of why Rhino adopted this program—Ted making personal loans got into a slippery slope of deciding which reasons were good enough. This allows people the dignity to make their own financial decisions.
From the employee perspective, as long as you're in good standing—meaning you've been at your employer for a probationary period and there's no disciplinary action in process—you're eligible. You walk into HR, grab an application, fill out the basics of how much money you need, and that gets passed to someone who verifies your eligibility and sends the information to the lender.
That day, someone from the lender will reach out, finish getting specifics, set up a savings account if needed, and issue the loan. We ensure with our lending partners that funds can be available within 24 to 48 hours. We want people to get past that financial emergency as quickly as possible. The repayment is communicated to HR for payroll deduction.
The idea is for it to be simple, straightforward, transparent. There's no fine print, no hidden fees, no penalties for early repayment. You set it and forget it. And hopefully, if you forget it long enough, you get a nice savings account at the end.
Leeanne: A way to empower employees, put decision-making in their hands, and help them build credit and savings.
Christina: Yes.
Justin: And keep it simple. Between the business and lending institution, there's usually a simple one- or two-page memorandum of understanding. The business pays a small nominal fee to establish it. Once set, it's that simple interaction—a quick conversation, fill out a form, over to the lender. They're not doing any other underwriting or credit analysis, just setting up an account and moving funds.
Keep it super simple and take judgment out of the process. This isn't about deciding childcare and car breakdowns are good reasons but something else is bad. There's a limit—usually $1,000 or $1,500—but no limit on taking another loan once you repay. Just like other lending products we all use. That helps people's credit and has allowed people to take loans for other needs—cars, even homes. Some mind-boggling stories.
Christina: We see the loan used for a whole variety of things. In the early days, it was often car repair, which helps retention. If someone in a rural area like Vermont doesn't have reliable transportation and starts missing shifts, that leads to job loss and a spiraling effect.
But now we have Chief Human Resources Officers who want to buy skis as a gift and don't want it on the credit card. Or if you need a new hot water heater and won't pay it back in one month, this is a less expensive option than a credit card. One of our founders' favorite stories is someone buying an engagement ring. Imagine wanting to take that step in your life but not being able to afford that gesture. It's the good, the bad, the happy, the sad—providing that access and dignity.
Leeanne: Those are great examples of how access to funds can empower employees and give them peace of mind. Let's talk about your other program, the Employee Exchange Program. It's a creative solution to seasonal staffing challenges. How does it work and what's been the response?
Justin: This practice was in place at Rhino when I was there, though it had gone a bit dormant. It's almost like a reverse temp agency model. Rhino is a seasonal business—busier in spring and summer, quieter in winter. We'd invest significant time and money hiring, onboarding, and training staff for various operational jobs. When we slowed down in winter, we wanted to retain that key staff so we wouldn't have to start over.
We found local businesses with complementary seasonal fluctuations. There's a chocolate company busy through the holidays and Valentine's Day that's been one of the steadiest partners for decades. We'd maintain employees on our payroll and enter agreements with other businesses to essentially operate as a staffing agency. Employees would work at the other business but still receive their Rhino paycheck and benefits—no disruption for them personally.
For both the employee and the business, avoiding that cycle of leaving a job, seeking temporary employment, and maybe coming back is incredibly valuable. It takes work—strong communication and partnership with other employers to figure out what roles make sense, how to prepare employees, and ensure proper training. But it's been a huge workforce stabilizer.
That's the common thread between Income Advance and Employee Exchange—programs designed to stabilize the workforce. Whether you're a purpose-driven business or just facing retention challenges or safety issues, these practices help create more predictability.
Christina, what would you add?
Christina: Rhino is using this actively right now and has been for the last few years. It's emblematic of an active decision to not just follow business as usual. Standard practice would be to lay folks off and say it's a seasonal business. But we know that's not good for people or the company. Hiring 20 people to work as batter makers in a month in a tight labor market like Vermont is a Herculean effort. It's not smart business first and foremost, and it's not good for the people we work with.
The second thing the Employee Exchange Program exemplifies is community focus. You need deep trusting relationships in the community to make this work. The Income Advance Program can start building that muscle within an employer and community, then open up conversations about what else we could be doing. All these practices encourage employee engagement and retention.
Justin: It adds safety, quality, productivity. Rhino is a food business, so the training for food safety requirements is a big deal. Bringing in 20, 40, or 60 temporary employees to handle a raw food product—that investment in training for quality standards and safe work practices is significant. Being able to maintain that creates well-rounded benefits for employees and employers.
Leeanne: I hear the creativity—it's not just about cutting costs and creating retention, but improving morale and stability. In communities where staffing might be an issue, it creates fidelity. Employees want to stay because they know they'll be taken care of. And it cuts down training time and costs.
Beyond these programs, what other strategies has Rhino implemented to support employees, particularly refugee employees and those facing unique challenges?
Christina: Rhino became noteworthy in the 1990s for seeing the opportunity in being located in a refugee resettlement area. We had a large influx of folks from the Bosnian community coming to Burlington looking for work, and we were looking for employees. It felt like taking advantage of an opportunity right in front of us.
It took a lot of work rethinking systems and processes across multiple languages and cultures as Rhino grew. But it built a muscle, and then they asked what other non-traditional ways they could bring hardworking people into the business. That looked like deciding to no longer do background checks—anyone with a criminal history can have employment at Rhino without questions asked.
Then it evolved to: there's a women's correctional facility right down the road. What are these women doing after release? Can we recruit people so they know they have a job as soon as they finish serving their sentence? With each new challenge and success, it encourages you to look further and say what else can we do differently? It's such a benefit to our business and community, and creates an interesting and exciting place to work.
Leeanne: Christina, can you give examples of powerful stories or outcomes you've seen?
Christina: We hired a program manager at the foundation, and during onboarding I had him work first shift at Rhino to get a feel for the business and culture. He didn't introduce himself as a foundation employee. On break, he asked someone what they liked about working at Rhino.
Not knowing he was with the foundation, the person said, "I was hired with a criminal record out of prison. I loved that they took a chance on me. I accessed an Income Advance loan, which helped me create stability early on. When you come out of incarceration with not a lot to your name, that was instrumental in keeping this job. Then when demand turned lower, I did the Employee Exchange Program, and they offered me a job at the end. I said no—I'll never work anywhere else but Rhino. Why would you go someplace else when people have taken such a chance on you?"
You start to see the through-line of these stories. We all have complex lives and needs. When you show up for somebody in full recognition of that complexity and say let's figure out a solution—most of these programs come out of dialogue with employees. It's not lightning striking senior management with a brilliant idea. It's honest conversation with the team: we're going to have to lay people off, what do we do? How do we figure out a better solution than saying goodbye to colleagues? That openness and willingness to learn makes programs more effective because they respond to needs authentically.
Leeanne: Really listening to employees, taking their feedback to heart, and implementing their ideas.
Justin: That's at the heart of what the Foundation's about—helping bring that way of being to other businesses. These practices are all worth a look, though maybe they don't all fit every business. So much of what gets offered in benefits packages is a result of what vendors are selling. Those products are designed with some needs in mind, but have limits.
One unique thing about how the Foundation can help employers is opening your eyes to problems playing out daily where there aren't traditional solutions or vendor-driven products. The question for me is: what's next? That's exciting about the Foundation work—when this has a flywheel effect and gets other businesses thinking this way. What's the next practice that can help businesses be more productive, efficient, and stable while helping people's lives be more secure and progressing?
There was a woman at Rhino living in a day-to-day situation who'd bounced through several jobs. Her car broke down—that was her first Income Advance. There wasn't trust initially. When told about this loan, she was like, "Why would you do this for me?" She built a relationship with the credit union, took out more loans, got a car loan, eventually bought a home. Story after story of people getting to a whole different place in their life. They're right there—we just need to open our eyes and start looking for them.
Leeanne: From an operations and HR perspective, what business case can you make to leaders who think these programs are nice to have but not essential?
Justin: I get super passionate about this because there's not a single business person I talk to who doesn't mention productivity challenges, turnover, retention, key talent, safety, or quality issues. These practices help create a current of stability that's hard to quantify, but these issues are real. A single person in a key role missing shifts and potentially losing their job could have massive ramifications for a business.
Taking some of those issues off the table lets you focus on what your business is about rather than having workforce instability keep you up at night.
Leeanne: These programs have been adopted by around 111 companies in Vermont and beyond. How do you help other organizations implement these solutions?
Christina: We see ourselves as part advocacy, getting out there and beating the drum, and part capacity building. Once someone wants to adopt a practice, we're all in on giving them whatever help they need.
That looks different in different places. There are 111 businesses in Vermont and just over the border in New Hampshire using the Income Advance program, but over 300 nationally. We're growing in thoughtful, systematic ways in certain markets, recruiting lenders throughout New England to connect businesses with them. In other places, as far as San Diego, businesses come to us wanting to bring this to their community.
It's a structural shift in a community's ecosystem—the workforce and lending space. But it's self-sustaining. The Income Advance Program creates access. It doesn't require us to stay in your community long-term. Once there are champions in place and basic infrastructure is set up, it runs on its own and continues paying dividends in community engagement and retention. We think of this as an investment in long-term financial health, not just of your employees but your whole local economy.
There's nothing Vermonters want more than keeping folks in Vermont and helping businesses thrive here. We see it as incumbent on us to help make that possible.
Leeanne: So the programs have not just local or business impact, but community-wide impact. Word is spreading with a nationwide reach.
Christina: Yes.
Leeanne: What's next for Rhino Foods Foundation? Any new programs or partnerships?
Christina: There's still so much potential for growth of the Income Advance Program. We see it as the beginning of a conversation in communities about being creative and responsive to employee needs. At the same time, we see employee needs increasing rapidly and dramatically.
The work we're engaging in is working with fellow employers to think creatively, beyond the paycheck, about ensuring stability in employees' lives—because we don't have a business without that. If folks can't access healthcare or food, what's the point of showing up? Maybe they simply can't.
We want employers to understand they have a role to play beyond the transactional and have a lot of influence and power in their community. Working closely with employees to understand their needs and with other businesses to understand what's possible—those are the conversations we're hoping to encourage. We want to elevate best practices from those conversations to help communities across the country.
Leeanne: For leaders listening who want to create more supportive, financially stable workplaces, what's the first step?
Christina: They can give us a call or send an email. But first and foremost, it's about having a chat with your team with a very humble approach. Don't call a company meeting and ask how people are doing—really get thoughtful about how you build trust with employees. Every business is different in their starting point. It's about beginning with understanding and learning.
Justin: The Foundation has incredible resources. Just go to rhinofoodsfoundation.org—there are program descriptions, tools, all kinds of information about what these things are and why you'd consider them. Christina has brought incredible leadership to the Foundation. We just hired another great person who lives in Maine, which has turned into a great geographic focus. There's a lot happening in Maine right now between lenders and employers.
The resource availability is there, whether you start with self-serve on the website or make that phone call to Christina for customized support. This foundation's a little unusual—people ask what we're trying to do, are we selling something? Really, this is an expression of impacting the manner in which business is done. The foundation's purpose is to spread innovative workplace practices. The more conversations get connected and ripples keep going out, that's what we're about.
I'm honored to be on the board with an incredible lineup of directors helping from all kinds of perspectives. One key thing the foundation is getting its arms around is breaking through myths about why this can't happen, including myths held by lenders. We felt there was some banking rule preventing banks from loaning money this way, but we've been unable to actually put our finger on that. Hopefully we've busted through that myth. That technical expertise is increasing all the time, and the networking ability is a huge factor.
Leeanne: So you have resources, expertise, and willingness—not only to share information but to support organizations implementing these programs and getting creative around solutions. This empowers employees and makes workplaces better, and as a result, they'll be more productive and safer and improve their communities. Christina, Justin, thank you so much for sharing your stories and passion for building workplaces that change lives. The work Rhino Foods Foundation is doing proves that when businesses put people first, everybody wins.
For our listeners, learn more at rhinofoodsfoundation.org and explore resources to bring these innovative programs to your own workplace. Until next time, stay bold, stay curious, and help ignite change in your industry.