Before jars and farmers markets, there was a lab.
In a previous life, I didn't work with dough or peanuts. I worked with cardiac tissue. I spent years earning a PhD, and what I kept coming back to is that cells are built from what you eat. Back then, I could only make the tiniest dent to the largest problems. MANU came out of that.
We are named MANU because this organization is an expression of my energy and my name is Manuel. MANU began in November 2025, during the SNAP freeze, selling as a microbusiness under the Urban Oasis Project. Our first retail relationship was Beehive Natural Foods.
“When times were tough, the Urban Oasis Project gave my family access to high-quality local food. That kindness fueled MANU. We restore human dignity through food. Our community deserves the best.”
- FromManny Tamargo, PhD, founder of MANU
Dignity as the Standard
It means we refuse to compromise on quality just because someone has limited resources. Every jar we produce meets the same high standards. We believe nutritious, carefully crafted food is a human right, not a luxury. People should not need to wait for a charitable event to access high quality, normal food.
Real food should be normal, not a luxury
Somewhere along the way, the standard for food changed. Fillers and chemicals replaced real ingredients. We stopped asking if it was nutritious, and just asked if it was edible. That is backward. Healthy food shouldn't be hard to find, and toxic food shouldn't be the default. We are here to change that. We make real food to restore human dignity, and we're removing the barriers until everyone can access it.
Why peanut butter
We chose peanut butter because we love it, and because it is dense, keeps well and goes with almost anything. We wanted to be part of the answer in Miami-Dade, and the hurdle was always access. We kept the ingredients as they are.
Simply MANU Inc. is a Florida benefit corporation
Simply MANU Inc. is a for-profit Florida benefit corporation. Urban Oasis Project is a separate nonprofit partner. It runs the Legion Park and Vizcaya farmers markets, where MANU is sold under its name.