Funny, I've been working on this business model for the last three months, but only now that we have an official title does our work feel fully legitimate.
Get Fresh Detroit is a start-up produce packaging & distributing venture that leverages existing retail channels (corner stores, party stores, liquor stores, etc.) in addressing the severe lack of fresh food access that plagues Detroit. There are a number of ways to characterize this problem. Some find a big scary name sufficient: The Detroit Urban Food Desert!! Others complain there isn't a single chain grocery store (Meijer, Kroger, etc) in Detroit's city limits. Small business advocates decry the mere 5-8 full-service independent grocers (depending on how one uses defines "full-service") serving the 800,000+ residents of Detroit. Economists point to the 92% of Detroit food assistance dollars that are spent in party, liquor, & convenient stores. Personally, I'm appalled by the forced reliance of families and children on highly processed fatty & fast foods that generate addiction, fail to satiate, reduce attention span, and spread disease while simultaneously promoting a broken and unjust food system.
So why packaged produce? And why corner stores?
To begin, corner stores are the centers of food retail in Detroit. Depleted public transportation coupled with a lack of private transportation force more than 50% of Detroit residents to rely on nearby corner stores for all their groceries. One mental snapshot of your local 7-Eleven or gas station, and health hazards implicit in this system become clear. Community initiatives have made efforts to introduce fresh produce into these corner stores, but low margins, difficult upkeep, and unreliable customer demand have rendered large numbers of rotting vegetables and unsuccessful efforts.
SO. Does packaged produce provide a viable alternative? We obviously think so. Stay tuned...
