This week was a pretty exciting week for my organization. This marked the first week of Tuesday markets at Eastern Market where the Food Academy sells their Mitten Bites. Although the kids in the summer program haven’t actually started to make them yet, two other interns from Duke University are manning the tent for them at the market. I was only down there for a little bit on Tuesday, but it was still really fun to be there. The people at the market really liked the samples and it seemed like a lot of the people were returning Mitten Bite’s customers, which was cool. It seems like even though the Detroit Food Academy is pretty new, it is already really making a good name for itself in the community and at the market, which is huge for their organization.
This week, they also found out that they received a huge grant that they were not expecting to qualify for and were also matched by a donor for $8,000 in funds. I was actually really excited to hear that. It seems like all the hard work that my supervisor and her team have been doing is really paying off… literally. With that money, they will be able to really expand the summer program and get high quality ingredients and facilities for the kids to use. It is interesting to see this side of organizations, the real business and managerial stuff that has to take place in order to be successful.
They’re also not the only small business that runs like this. This past week, I have had to look at a list of local food businesses and write an information sheet about them. They all seem to make the point to mention that they are not only interested in putting healthy food into the Detroit Food market, but really focus on the idea of entrepreneurship and business independence. It’s all really new to me.
I also had a sweet experience in Detroit just in general. I was exploring Old Main and have been going into the art room a few days this week. On the wall there, they have old prints from students back in like in the 80’s. I thought it was sweet to see the art and history preserved even in just that building. I know that people from Detroit especially take a lot of pride in the past/present art scene, and it was cool to see the combination of new and old styles in that building.
So that’s Old Main. It smelled like oil paint.
One of my mom’s prints on the wall. So typical 80’s punk, so precious.
I am so glad that you got to explore Old Main because it holds a very special tie to Detroit’s past. Congrats on getting the grant! I am really happy for your organization; keep up the good work, Gina!