June 2013 American Way Magazine - page 46

FOOD
cities) and studied closely, not only for its
smartride(aremodeledretiredtransitbus)
but for itssuccessfulrallyingof360-degree
supportto itscause.
“Wewantedtodosomethinggood forthe
community,” saysFreshMoves co-founder
Steve Casey. “But hunger is a universal
problem.We’vebeen contactedbypeople
from50to60communities,fromTorontoto
SãoPaulo,Brazil.Wenever imaginedFresh
Moveswouldresonateas ithas.”
Whena2006 reportby researcherMari
Gallagher found that nearly 633,000Chi-
cagoanswere living in fooddeserts, those
numbershit tooclose tohome for thecom-
fortofCaseyandfellowcommunityactivists
Je‰PinzinoandSheelahMuhammad. “It’s
a social-justice issueyou just can’t ignore,”
saysCasey, nowpresident of FreshMoves’
boardof directors. “Youhave toask, ‘Why
isthat?Whatcouldbedi‰erentaboutthat?
Couldwechangethat?’“”
The trio’s first impulse, says Casey,
was “to build the biggest, baddest corner
store in thecity. Butnoneofusaround the
tablecould raise the$1million-plusorhad
theconnections todo it.”Thesearch foran
alternativeapproach led them tostudyPeo-
ple’sGroceryinWestOakland.Insteadofan
open-backmailtruck,theyproposedusinga
retiredcitybustoprotectagainstChicago’s
harshwinters.Withinfiveminutesofhear-
ingtheirplan,theChicagoTransitAuthority
green-lightedFreshMoves’requestand, for
$1, soldthemaretiredbus.
FreshMovesnowhadwheels—andmo-
mentum.Onitsroutetowardlaunchday,the
endeavorpickedupseveralotherinvaluable
partners.“Weknewfromtheoutsetthatone
organization couldnot solve such a large
andintractableissueonitsown,”Caseysays.
Collaboratorsdulyclaimed, andcompleted,
itemson thechecklist.Marketstudy?High-
schoolstudentsinthenonprofitUmojaCom-
munityBuildersprojectsurveyedWestSide
residents for their ideas for increasing food
access in thearea.Businessplan?Students
in theKendall CollegeSchool of Business
developedone.Kendall’sSchoolofCulinary
Artsalsocontributedsimple,healthyrecipes
FreshMoves couldhandout as part of its
educationaloutreach.
The Chicago chapter of Architecture
for Humanity produced, for free, five vi-
abledesigns for transforming thebus into
aneŸcientand invitingspace.WMDisplay
Group— a family-ownedmanufacturer in
48 JUNE 01, 2013 AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
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