Everything Under The Sun: Bringing Fresh Produce To The Detroit African-American Community

Children take a hayride with staff at DBCFSN's 2-acre farm.

Bright spots can be found in just about any community, even those that have received a lot of bad press. The same is true of Detroit, where the city population has continued to decline, leaving vacant and decaying homes. It's an organization that has been bringing self-reliance, food security, and food justice to the black community.

Established in 2006, the DETROIT BLACK COMMUNITY FOOD SECURITY NETWORK (DBCFSN) has been bringing opportunities for African-Americans in Detroit to participate in the food movement. Through its programs, this organization has been reducing the number of areas in which people have no access to fresh, healthy, nutritional, and culturally appropriate foods/produce. From planting gardens to developing a mini-farm, and adding a two-acre farm in a public park, the organization showcases a variety of ways to grow fruits and vegetables, in a sustainable manner, completely chemical-free.

But that's not all. Adults and children have access to educational programs run by DBCFSN. The Food Warriors program works with three city schools to provide hands-on education about various aspects of the food system. A lecture series geared to adults provides them with information about the various issues involved with the food system.

Still in the process of development is a food co-op, designed primarily to be accessed by members of the African-American community with low to moderate incomes, rather than being placed in an affluent section of the city. Like other food co-ops, it would be cooperatively owned by members of the community, who also elect nine of the board members. When it is completed, it is expected to employ twenty people.

Members of the community tour D-Town Farm.

The food co-op is to be part of a larger complex, the Detroit Food Commons, which is also being developed by DBCFSN. Included in the complex will be a kitchen incubator, which is to provide food entrepreneurs with a licensed facility and equipment for preparing food and selling it to the public. Additional features include a healthy foods cafe and a venue for meetings, lectures, films, performances, and other types of events. Grants, loans, and memberships in the co-op are expected to fund these endeavors.