Brahm's Blog

The importance of food in social struggle

Brahm — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:05:32 +0000

We just got an enlightening message on People’s Grocery’s facebook page from an extraordinary woman named Joan Tarika Lewis who, in addition to being a jazz violinist, visual artist, historian, lecturer and teacher, identifies herself as the “first female recruit of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense”. With a rich knowledge of African American history and struggle in the Bay Area, Tarika sent us the following message, which I thought readers might appreciate:

“People’s Grocery-I applaud your dynamic efforts. In South Berkeley and in West Oakland families planted their own gardens and raised chickens…dating back to the turn of the century. The deliberate removal of African American home owners and businesses that existed along 7th street, Sacramento street into South Berkeley was the Black Belt…Eminent Domain destroyed (BART, Cal Trans, W.Oak Post office, 880 freeway) The BPP youth created the Breakfast for Children program and Food Distribution to the poor. The NOI had farmland, fish, cannery and food distribution nationwide. Co-op store became Whole Foods…”

Tarika’s voice underscores the importance of food in social struggle and reminds us that there has been innovation among people of color in providing for their own food and nutritional needs for a long time.

Here are links to two of my past blogs on historical perspectives on food and social struggle:

The story of the original People’s Grocery Company in Memphis, TN.

Excerpt by Renee La Chaux about how the food scene in West Oakland use to be.

The imperative of scaling up

Brahm — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:35:53 +0000

In the summer of 2008, after 6 years of building People’s Grocery and developing small-scale enterprises and urban agriculture projects in West Oakland, I came to the realization that these projects were ultimately too small to make a significant impact on the magnitude of food and nutrition needs in the community. This realization came after learning what the level of unmet food demand in West Oakland was and comparing that unmet demand to the output of our efforts.

To find out what food demand in West Oakland was I commissioned two studies. The first was a market study of West Oakland produced by consultant Pete Davis. This study determined that West Oakland residents spend about $60 million for “food-at-home” (not including food consumed at restaurants) each year. We then estimated that the food supply shortage relative to food demand in West Oakland, sometimes called the “grocery gap”, was around 60%. This meant that $36 million in annual food demand in West Oakland is not being met through local food outlets and is, consequently, being spent at food stores outside of the community.

The second study, produced by Hank Herrera who is currently Project Director for the HOPE Collaborative in Oakland, looked at the level of consumption among West Oakland residents for 20 basic food items (produce, grain, meat, and dairy). This study determined that West Oakland residents consumed about 19 million pounds within the 20 basic food items in 2008 (10 of the 20 items were fruits & vegetables, either processed or unprocessed, and accounted for 6.5 million pounds of consumption). By applying the West Oakland “grocery gap” figure of 60%, this meant that almost 11.5 million pounds of West Oakland’s consumption of the basic food basket could not be provided locally.

Once I knew what the level of food demand in West Oakland really was in both dollars and pounds, I looked at People’s Grocery’s output in 2008. By comparing our food sales to the $31 million dollars of unmet food demand and the pounds of food that we grew and distributed to the 11.5 million pounds of unmet food consumption, I came to the sobering realization of just how small, in real terms, our impact actually is. Our total efforts in 2008 met less than 1% of West Oakland’s food needs in dollars and less than 1.5% in pounds (the weight figure is higher because we distribute a portion of our food at no charge).

So while People’s Grocery gets a ton of recognition and celebration from across the nation for our innovative work in bringing healthy foods into the neighborhood, and while we’ve poured a lot of time, money and effort into our work, the sobering truth is that People’s Grocery has just barely chipped away at the surface of the food insecurity problem in West Oakland. How’s that for some humble pie?!!

Some of you might be thinking that it can’t really be that low because there are also other groups in West Oakland working on this issue and the result of these collective efforts must have a bigger impact than any single effort. Well I also estimated what the collective impact of People’s Grocery and the three other main West Oakland food organizations (City Slicker Farms, OBUGS, and Mo Better Food) might be. Assuming that all of our organizations have about the same level of output in sales and in food pounds, my analysis indicated that we collectively still met less than 1% in demand in dollars and 2.5% in pounds.

This analysis made it clear to me how imperative it is that we scale up our work to levels in which we can make a bigger dent on the issue. After grappling with what models have the greatest potential for reaching this level of scale I came to the conclusion that a grocery store is still, by the far, the best way to do it. In our preliminary planning we’ve projected that our store will capture about 30% of the West Oakland food market. That’s a level of impact that dramatically dwarfs our current efforts. And we’re now beginning to develop a low-cost low-tech enterprise that can enable the next iteration in our scaling up so that we can show that we’re moving toward a grocery store (more on this to come). But no matter what strategies People’s Grocery pursues, achieving scale is becoming a central component of our work.

I often say that while People’s Grocery has done good work and demonstrated some worthy models, our biggest and best work has yet to come.

People’s Grocery on Oakland Unwrapped

Brahm — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:58:59 +0000

The OneCalifornia Foundation, a local nonprofit organization here in Oakland, runs an online marketplace called Oakland Unwrapped! with the goal of making it very easy for community members to support our local economy by shopping at Oakland-owned independent businesses and artists. Oakland Unwrapped recently expanded its marketplace to include Oakland businesses and artists that already have e-commerce sites. The idea is that the more great local online shops that are in one marketplace the more useful it is to the shopper and, therefore, the more beneficial to our local economy.

Oakland Unwrapped recently added People’s Grocery to their online marketplace. You can see your listing here:http://oaklandunwrapped.org. Scroll down until you see People’s Grocery’s profile.

The Grub Box - Whole Foods Comparison

Brahm — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:57:02 +0000

One of our Grub Box customers told us about a very interesting story about how a friend of his had argued that Whole Foods Market has more affordable produce than People’s Grocery’s Grub Box. Our customer’s friend wanted to challenge the premise that People’s Grocery’s $12 Grub Box is more affordable than a similar basket of produce sold at Whole Foods. So they went to Whole Foods and put together a basket of produce that was comparable to our Grub Box. The grand total at the cash register was ….. $30! Apparently they were pretty surprised at the difference in price and had to acknowledge that the Grub Box was a better deal.

Of course there are a few factors that skew this comparison. This first is that the quantity for each item of produce sold by People’s Grocery is smaller than the quantity for each item of produce sold by Whole Foods. So for example, a bunch of broccoli or carrots sold at Whole Foods is larger than a bunch of broccoli or carrots sold by People’s Grocery. If we adjusted our produce pack size upward or if Whole Foods adjusted their pack sizes downward, the difference in price would be less, although People’s Grocery would probably still be a little cheaper.

Another key aspect that skews this comparison is the fact that the $12 Grub Box is a subsidized offer for low-income families. Our “sponsor” customers, who are people of more able economic means, pay $24 per box (the two boxes are identical in selection, quality and quantity). Part of this premium is used to provide a discount for low-income families, which is how we can sell the Grub Box for $12. So, to get at a more accurate comparison one would have to compare against the $24 Grub Box, which is still of course less than $30.

If you adjusted quantity and removed the subsidy our produce prices are probably about the same as Whole Foods’ prices. But then one also should consider the “hidden costs” or “externalities” that are not reflected in the price a customer pays at Whole Foods. Because unfortunately, the entire food system, including Whole Foods, depends on externalizing costs in order to keep food prices lower. As the customer who told us this story said: “What is the net energy, Co2 outputs, and the experience of those producing the food for Whole Foods? Is the food coming from impoverished foreign countries? Do I get the food from a community member whom I can call by first name, or do I have to wait in line at a store that has no local ownership or character?”

USDA Unveils the People’s Garden

Brahm — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:25:03 +0000

Yesterday the new Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, announced an initiative to create a community garden at each USDA facility worldwide. Vilsack is calling these gardens “The People’s Gardens” in honor of Abraham Lincoln who had referred to the USDA as “The People’s Department”.

Vilsack stated that these gardens will promote “green concepts” like low-water usage landscaping and using native plants. The first People’s Garden is being built on the grounds of the USDA headquarters. A stretch of pavement is going to be dug up in order for the garden to be built, which Vilsack pointed to as a way of “restoring the land back to its natural condition…”

This seems like a very significant shift in the USDA’s approach to land use, conservation and, in particular, embracing green and sustainable agriculture technologies. We at People’s Grocery are quite flattered by the choice of using “People’s” in the name. But this announcement makes no mention of the issue of food insecurity among millions of Americans or how the People’s Gardens will help address this issue, as People Grocery is trying to do. But perhaps this new initiative is a sign of positive changes to come in the USDA.

Oakland’s Markets Are A Hidden Gem

Brahm — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:55:16 +0000

Many of us who working at the community level in Oakland to push for entrepreneurial solutions to the many economic, social and health needs of our communities have known for a long time that Oakland presents strong retail market opportunities that can support local economic development and job creation. But it appears that many key decision makers (including those in Oakland itself) didn’t realize, or believe in, the existence of strong markets in Oakland’s communities.

There are now signs that public officials and developers are beginning to see the light in Oakland. Oakland Tribune writer Cecily Burt posted an article on January 29 entitled Oakland has big dreams for retail, but will they come? in which she reported on a gathering of East Bay mayors, retail brokers and development experts to discuss retail development. One theme in the article was a new understanding that Oakland has been underestimated as a retail market and has largely been ignored by retailers.

The article cites Gregory Hunter, Oakland’s deputy director of economic development and redevelopment, as estimating that Oakland shoppers spend as much as $1 billion annually and that, since a lack of shopping choices often pushes residents to shop elsewhere, much of these shopping dollars are not captured within Oakland (causing Oakland to lose out on millions of dollars in tax revenues. The article quotes Hunter as saying “There has to be a reason there is all this retail around Oakland and none in Oakland… But now there has been a significant interest in Oakland”.

For thousands of Oakland residents who have been lacking basic retail services such as grocery stores the response to this realization about Oakland, however late, is Hallelujah! Finally, people are seeing that Oakland is a hidden gem and, maybe, now there will be some change to bringing the people the goods and services they have been lacking for so long. Of course, whether the city of Oakland can actually deliver on bringing quality and reliable retail to Oakland is yet to be seen. And there’s no assurance that local entrepreneurs and business owners, especially those from the city’s most marginalized communities, will greatly benefit from such efforts.

We at People’s Grocery have long advocated not only for the development of businesses that can meet the community’s needs, such as for fresh and affordable foods, but for those businesses to be owned by local residents so that we can strengthen the economic backbone of our own communities. Yet, not too long ago, I was in a meeting with members of the Oakland redevelopment agency who told me they didn’t have a position on supporting locally-owned businesses. So while we may see an upswing in retail attraction and development in Oakland in the coming years, our communities will have to work hard to ensure that local businesses are given some degree of priority so that the community’s wealth is captured and returned to the neighborhoods instead of being given away to outside business owners.

Grub Party Signals a New Level of Change

Brahm — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:45:32 +0000

On Saturday January 17 we held the first People’s Grocery Grub Party of 2009. The event was a huge success, with many residents turning out and enjoying a great program, conversation and, of course, great food. But January’s Grub Party was not just a success in terms of turnout and program. It was also a success for People’s Grocery in making progress toward a long-held vision of an integrated approach toward community building and change in which the West Oakland residents that we work with, as customers and clients, are participating in more than just one of our offers and/or programs.

This means that cooking class students are also customers of the Grub Box. It means that the parents of the teens in our programs are themselves customers or students. And it ultimately means that people who attend our events, or are engaged by our staff or youth, are inspired take further action and stay involved. The reason for wanting sustained participation of individuals and families is simple: The more we can engage with someone, and the more someone is exposed to new ideas, the more likely they are to sustain a changed behavior and/or lifestyle.

At People’s Grocery we take inspiration from several behavioral change models to reach toward an integrated experience. One such model is AIDA, which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. These models are built on an understanding of how human beings learn and change behavior. So, by utilizing the concept that human beings move along a spectrum of behavioral change, People’s Grocery works to 1) create catalytic experiences that stimulate attention/interest and 2) provide ongoing supports that enable an individual to develop desire for a healthier life and, ultimately, take action to fulfill it.

The January 17 Grub Party was really a sign that residents are integrating themselves through People’s Grocery’s offers. Here are some examples:

Blanca

St. Mary’s Grub Box customer, wants to sign up for more
Brought 2 other families
Interested in cooking class

Angelina

New Grub Box member
Enrolled in next cooking class
Wants us to outreach to her church for Grub Boxes

Tevah

Summer youth intern
Mother subscribes to Grub Box
Referred friend to work with us
His senior project is on food justice

Lorri

cooking class graduate
continuing Grub Box member
past Grub Party participant

While this integrated approach has happened with a few individuals in the past, by and large it hasn’t happened with most people we’ve interacted with. So seeing that some of the individuals who attended the January Grub Party are beginning to be involved in a number of People’s Grocery’s offers was a very significant indication that our theory of behavior change is, in fact, achievable. Of course, sustaining the ongoing involvement of residents is very challenging and takes constant work at nurturing the relationships and reaching out. What happened at the January Grub party not only supports our theory of change, but proves that our relationships and cooperation in the community are reaching new levels. If we can maintain and grow this trend, and embed it within the culture and practice of everything we do as a community organization, we’ll only see more residents staying involved, changing their behavior and, ultimately, growing our community.

People’s Grocery & Mandela Foods Cooperative

Brahm — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:11:37 +0000

Many people have asked us about our relationship to the Mandela Foods Cooperative effort here in West Oakland. I want to quickly tell people about People’s Grocery’s past relationship to this effort and our support for it.

People’s Grocery was a part of this effort about 4 years ago under what was then called the West Oakland Food Collaborative. At that time the store that the collaborative was planning for was called SoulFoods Coop. For a number of reasons, including differences about location, store size and decision making process, People’s Grocery chose to pull out of the effort (along with other local groups such as Mo Better Food and Black Dot Artists Collective) and began pursuing our own store model that would entail a different geographic area, as well as approach, from Mandela Foods Cooperative.

A smaller group of people continued on under the West Oakland Food Collaborative banner to develop the original retail store concept, which was subsequently renamed the Mandela Foods Cooperative, and to secure a retail location on 7th St. across from the West Oakland BART station. After many years of hard work and the overcoming of numerous challenges, the Mandela Foods Coop secured a lease and is improving the location with the hope of opening in the near future. People’s Grocery is happy for this group’s long-deserved progress toward launching a retail space and supports their future success in the community.

Why would we support another effort to start a grocery store when we are trying to do the same? The reason is simple: Mandela Foods Coop, similarly to People’s Grocery, is working to create much needed health and economic opportunity in West Oakland. Rather than taking a competitive position, we believe that the level of unmet food demand in West Oakland is far greater than what any single enterprise can meet on its own and that there is plenty of opportunity in the marketplace for numerous community-based ventures to co-exist and thrive. This is easily demonstrated by the fact that, while there are 53 liquor stores in West Oakland today, 60-70% of the community’s food shopping is still unmet locally. So we support Mandela Foods’ success as part of a vision for a robust and diverse network of food retailers, distributors and producers in West Oakland.

A boost of inspiration

Brahm — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:42:48 +0000

Once in a while we receive some great feedback from a client/resident that really reveals the difference that People’s Grocery is making. The following is a letter we received in December from Pamela Deering, who is a West Oakland resident and a Grub Box customer. Her letter was very uplifting for our staff and boosted our inspiration. I hope you find this letter as inspiring as we did…………….

“Dear Brahm and every single one of you at Peoples’ Grocery,

My roommate started buying grub boxes in the summer of this year, after she asked me if I thought it was a good idea. I said, hell yes! I do most of our cooking, and it’s always sad how tasteless and empty the grocery store produce is. When I was growing up, my family grew our own veggies & fruits, so I knew what I was missing.

Week after week, she started coming home with the most beautiful stuff. You probably think it’s silly, but I’m one of those people who gets all excited when I cut open a cabbage, or get a wild-looking eggplant. I have to run & show everybody in the house — “Look, isn’t this cool?”

Anyway, I cannot really express to you how much joy and satisfaction it brings us every time we sit down to a delicious meal full of absolutely delicious and beautiful wholesome things, organically grown, that we would NEVER have been able to afford otherwise. It means a lot to us to know that our produce is grown in soil that is not depleted and stripped, and that our food will actually nourish us like it’s supposed to.

When you’re in a low-income bracket, you get used to doing without a lot of little things that may not be so little to you. Nice food is one of the most basic, and the saddest to go without for us and many other people. So if you ever wonder how much what you do affects people’s lives, I want to let you know that it really does.

Thank you, and happy winter holidays to you all.

Sincerely, Pamela Deering and roommates”

Hood Diet — Rap Video

Brahm — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:28:30 +0000

Happy 2009 everybody! I got kind of slack in my blogging toward the end of ‘08. So my new year’s resolution is to blog more in order to respond to the great feedback and interest I get from this blog.

We recently learned about an amazing rap song and video called “Hood Diet” that sums up much of of what People’s Grocery’s work is all about… in true hip hop fashion. The artist is Yonkers-based Loer Velocity and features DonnanLinx. The lyrics are amazing, so check out the video at this youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzvECT82bTo