Weeeeeeeek 2

In case any students in future years with the program are reading this, major shoutout to Green Garage. It is an amazing building full of spectacular people who want to do great things with and for the people. It’s a great place to network with other people in the nonprofit / triple bottom line world as well as do meaningful work for communities in the present.

I’m with Fresh Corner Cafe, run by Noam and Val, and they are a triple bottom line business dedicated to providing people in low food access neighborhoods, as well as those with sufficient access, with healthy, fresh, affordable, ready-made meals. Fresh Corner sets up weekly pop-up markets at community centers, schools, and other high traffic areas in neighborhoods so people can conveniently feed themselves quality food. The goal is to provide people with access to healthy food, and provide them with a means to catalyze shifting into a healthier diet.

Will and I will be gathering qualitative data through surveys and interviews we will have patrons and customer take. We will be asking questions about who they feed with FCC food, how they feel about their access to healthy food, how Fresh Corner fits into their meal planning, and how Fresh Corner can better serve them. We will be creating a collective narrative about Fresh Corner through the eyes of the consumers to increase marketability and likelihood of receiving grants. Also, Fresh Corner can take our data and recommendations and, if valid, apply it to increase efficiency and provide more holistic satisfaction to their customers.

This first week here has been great. One of the biggest things I’ve realized is that it takes a lot of time and energy to work a 9-5, cook and clean up after yourself, and take care of yourself. It’s a great taste of what it’s like to be a real person and a nice low pressure way to adapt to it. I’ve really been enjoying talking with Detroiters and hearing about what they think of the current climate of the city, upcoming policies and projects, and what their experience in Detroit has been like. It feels like we’ve been here for much longer than the 10 or so days that’ve actually passed. I’m looking forward to getting to know the non-tourist-y parts of Detroit.