food justice Archives - SHOPPE BLACK

Published on February 14, 2022February 15, 2022

3 mins read

Black Owned Grocery Store Receives $2.5 Million Grant

Forty Acres Fresh Market is a startup grocer founded in 2018 by Liz Abunaw in response to the lack of fresh food options on Chicago’s West Side.

As much as Liz loved offering fresh produce at pop-ups, farmers’ markets, and a grocery delivery service, her dream was to open a brick-and-mortar store.

It seems her dream has come true. The city of Chicago is backing the development of a Black-owned supermarket with a $2.5 million grant, funded under the Chicago Recovery Plan.

The Chicago Recovery Plan Community Development Grant program will offer small grants up to $250,000 and large grants up to $5 million. Business owners can apply online. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with a first-round deadline on Jan. 31 and a second-round deadline on March 10.

For Forty Acres Fresh Market, the grant will fund part of the construction costs, including plumbing, mechanical and electrical work for things like refrigerators and freezers. They expect to apply for construction permits in the coming months. Construction will begin once the city approves the permits, a process that could take three to five months.

Tracy Smith has been with Forty Acres since the beginning.

“It’s very exciting,” Smith said. “I’ve never been a part of anything like this … I’ve seen Liz do everything, from the first events to finding a location where they wanted the store … Every time we go over there to get something, someone asks when it is going to open.”

The store will fill the gap in mid-sized grocery stores, allowing residents to stock up on daily food items between major shopping trips. The store will be full-service, with a range of fresh fruits, veggies, prepared foods, frozen items, a refrigerated section and dry goods.

Bringing a grocery store to the area will improve more than just food access, Abunaw said: A grocery store is part of a neighborhood’s social infrastructure that builds cohesion in a community and benefits all businesses along the corridor. The increased foot traffic and local dollars being circulated within the Austin community can “slowly start to shift the perception that there’s nothing on Chicago” Avenue, she said.

“We want people to start associating good shopping experiences with Austin,” Abunaw told Black Club Chicago. “It’s not just buying food. It’s the people, it’s the customer service. It’s the frozen food aisle and discovering new things you didn’t even know you needed.”

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Published on April 25, 2019

4 mins read

Farmers Market on Wheels Brings Fresh Produce to Brooklyn Food Deserts

Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and The Campaign Against Hunger, joined by Councilmember Alicka Ampry-Samuels, presented on Wednesday the “Fresh Vibes Mobile Market,” a retrofitted RV that will bring affordable produce, cooking and nutrition workshops combined with social services to underserved Brooklyn neighborhoods.

The initiative kicked off at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in East Flatbush, a community facing some of the highest levels of food insecurity in Brooklyn.

“Hippocrates said to ‘let food be thy medicine,’” said Adams. “The ‘Fresh Vibes Market’ is a vehicle for change, a fresh approach to combating diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, obesity and other chronic illnesses that are preventable and reversible through dietary changes. This RV will help us navigate Brooklynites in need through the challenges of accessing some of the basic services that are just in arms’ reach.”

The mobile unit will make three stops per day, five days a week to offer below-market price produce grown locally by TCAH and will accept benefit programs such as Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT); Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), as well as Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

Equipped with a cooktop and refrigeration, produce storage bins, a classroom and a benefits access area, the RV will be staffed with a chef-educator, an outreach worker and a SNAP specialist to offer cooking demonstration and workshops, as well as SNAP screenings, job referral services and even fitness classes.

The “Fresh Vibes Market” targets the most underserved Brooklynites including the elderly, new mothers, children, students, NYCHA residents and undocumented immigrants, allowing TCAH further expand its mission to increase access to healthy foods in high-need areas.

“TCAH’s core mission is to empower our neighbors to lead healthier, more productive and self-sufficient lives by increasing their access to nutritious food and related resources,” said Dr. Samuels, founder and executive director of TCAH. “Unlike other emergency feeding programs, our primary goal for this vehicle is to increase the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by engaging families to make healthier eating choices and to introduce measures that can make a dent in high levels of chronic disease.”

(L-r:) Councilmember Ampry-Samuel, BP Adams and TCAH Executive Director Dr. Samuels on board the Fresh Vibes Market RV. Photo credit: CM Ampry-Samuel/ Twitter.

The launch of the mobile market also marks the beginning of numerous outreach campaigns, developed by TCAH in partnership with Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, to eliminate barriers to food access and social services in the community, officials announced.

“We know that improving access to healthy foods and needed social services are key to one’s overall health,” said Enid Dillard, director of marketing and public affairs at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center. “We look forward to growing this partnership and impacting the lives of those who are food insecure within our communities.”

Source: BK Reader