Nut Butters That Spread Good

Ground Up Team Women Owned

About Us

Ground Up is a not-just-for-profit business that provides job training to womxn overcoming adversity in the Portland area. Through the sale of healthy and delicious nut butters, we empower womxn with the confidence and skills they need to get back on their feet.

Our Mission

We partner with local nonprofits to employ womxn overcoming adversity who have the motivation to work, but lack opportunity for employment. 

Through our 6-9 month employment training program, we provide job skills and individualized training to meet womxn where they’re at, regardless of their background and previous job history.

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Ground Up Founders Julie Carolyn

Our Story

It all started with the simple idea that if you give a womxn an opportunity, the trickle-down effect to her community would be powerful and dramatic.

Ground Up began in 2016 when Julie Sullivan returned from Uganda, where she had been overseeing an employment training program for women overcoming poverty. Back in her hometown of Portland, Oregon, she soon recognized the need for a similar program at home. However, she needed a product...

Meanwhile, Carolyn had been perfecting recipes for delicious sugar-free, peanut-free nut butters (which she developed due to dietary constraints). The two met, and soon realized that their passions could be combined to create a business centered around social impact.

In the Press

The Nut Butter Company Helping Formerly Homeless and Trafficked Women Build New Careers


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This Nut Butter Company Aims to Build Confidence in the Women They Hire


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Up Your Nut Butter Game with Three Recipes from Ground Up


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