The Hood Hub

Solving food deserts one neighborhood at a time!

Although we live in a first-world country, we still have a problem that many would use to describe a third-world country, food insecurity, which is the second United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. Many are familiar with programs such as Feeding America that help to feed the homeless or children whose parents can’t afford to pay for their lunch. However, these options simply pacify the issue rather than work at the root cause, food deserts, or areas of low access to fresh foods. The USDA defines areas of low access as:   

“Low-income census tracts where a significant number (at least 500 people) or share (at least 33 percent) of the population is greater than one-half mile from the nearest supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store for an urban area or greater than 10 miles for a rural area. Using this measure, an estimated 53.6 million people, or 17.4 percent of the U.S. population [as of 2019], live in tracts that are low-income and low access and are more than a one-half mile or 10 miles from the nearest supermarket.”

There is also the issue of supply and demand which is contested within the homes of those affected by living in areas of low access. Food insecurity is rooted in financial insecurity and any of the families that are most affected by this issue receive some form of government assistance, which in and of itself is questionable in its equitable distribution. According to The Brookings Institute, although many lower-income homes spend more than wealthier homes on average for food, they also spend more of their total income on groceries spending on average 36% of their disposable income on food. This forces some families to make the hard choice between groceries and other expenses such as medicine, school supplies, and other home utilities.  

Lastly, it is also shown that the areas that are most impacted by these food deserts are often areas with the most at-risk populations including single-parent homes, minorities, the elderly, and those with chronic conditions. According to the Economic Research Service, at times these areas have these groups at a rate of 65% more than areas with higher access to food. Given the demographics of the populations most affected, it is imperative that this is an issue that is swiftly addressed and corrected from the root so that food insecurity does not put them at more of a disadvantage in our society than they already are.

Above, I have introduced several various components that all have a root in food insecurity in areas of low access, known as food deserts. My solution, the Hood Hub, is an easily scalable business idea that would solve this problem with a little bit of planning, both functional and modern technology, and lots of healthy food. 

At the Hood Hub, we would begin by helping to gather community buy-in by purchasing either an empty plot or an area of blight and establishing a food hub that would serve the neighborhood within a one-half-mile radius of the hub. This hub would be a community co-op partially owned and run by the community. This would bring together the neighbors and provide jobs. The goal would be to have a host of various in-season fruits and vegetables, an array of protein choices, rotating sides such as pasta, and other essentials such as milk, eggs, and water once a week for purchase right in the heart of the areas most affected.

 Once we are established and ready for operation, we would take a survey of the community and have them register their interest as well as share their home demographic information such as how many people live in their home, if they have any disabilities that require delivery, and if they would like to communicate via weekly emails or texts. These texts would serve as our weekly inventory allotment to see how much food would be available for each home to take with them that week. 

 To remain equitable and equal to both those who use government assistance and those who simply want a closer option to get fresh foods, we would only charge a maximum of $30 or the equivalent of food stamps per person using the service. 

Lower-income, majority-minority neighborhoods in urban cities within a low-access census tract.

I remember growing up on Asbury Park in Detroit, which is located within a food desert, and my mom would have to drive out of the city to access a grocery store that offered fresh food at reasonable prices. We were fortunate to be able to do that, as it was just the two of us. While I may no longer be a resident of Detroit, I have family who still lives there and still face the same challenges. When creating this solution, I had both my younger self and my family members in mind. 

I am also a recent graduate of Eastern Michigan University where I received my BBA in Business Management. While at EMU I spent a lot of time learning about social entrepreneurship and how to help various communities with businesses. Given my personal vested interest as well as my educational background I believe that I am the perfect candidate to deliver this solution to first the metro-Detroit community and eventually similar communities around the nation. 

I have family who is prime examples of my target audience. I have taken the time to interview them, see what their needs were and what they would use as a solution. I have also taken it upon myself to do further secondary research on government and official websites such as the USDA, The Brookings Institute, and the Economic Research Service. I have also completed market research to see what was currently being done about the food desert problem and what seems to be working, not working, and how I could expand to further reduce the inequitable food desert problem our country currently faces. A few examples would be FRESH in NYC, The Common Market, and The Food Trust. These all provide a service to help fight either the low access or food insecurity issues that we face in this country. However, they all fall short of either being scalable or helping the community at large. However, I have been able to learn about what impact these organizations have had on their communities and I have chosen to take what was best about their ideas and create something new that can be customized to the community in which the hub is placed.

There are a lot of great options currently to fight against the low-access regions such as building new grocery stores or foraging farmers' markets. But unfortunately, none of them currently work in a way that can suffice different types of neighborhoods, help those who have transportation issues, and fix the financial insecurity issue, we aim to do all three. 

I am currently in the concept phase of this business plan. However, if chosen for the next round of this program, I believe that this would give me both the resources and confidence needed to take this past concept phase and begin the planning phase to roll this out in a neighborhood in Detroit, Mi. The impact would be vital to everyone who lives in the community chosen as this would provide a new, fresh alternative to grocery shopping at the overpriced or non-existent current options. Having healthy food leads to having a healthy life and that is the greatest impact one could ask for. 

Technology would be the backbone of our inventory system. Although it would be easier to have a website, we do not wish to intimidate those who do not know how to use advanced technology. Therefore, SMS and email would be used as the primary source of information, they were chosen as an option to make it as easy as possible for the most amount of people to get the help they deserve. 

For those who cannot make it to the hub, we would also offer a delivery service at no extra cost inspired by Amazon’s drone home delivery. Those working for the hub would shop for various groceries for the neighbor who needs them and send them to them using a delivery drone. 

I am currently in the concept phase so I do not currently serve anyone. 

If I am able to start this project and have at least one. hub established by the end of the year, I would estimate that I would provide access to roughly 500 people, and out of the 500, maybe 350 would use this service regularly. (I.e. weekly)

First, I am still in the concept phase so I would need to continue to solidify my business plan which would take time. I would also need to gather a team to help me bring this idea to light. 

Secondly, I would need to gather the necessary permits to a) build a business in the middle of the neighborhood and b) to be able to fly a drone for delivery.

Thirdly, I would have to convince the first neighborhood to take a chance on me. I know how it is to be in these neighborhoods and I know that lots of people would be skeptical of me coming in and trying to help. But once a reputation is built this will ease. 

N/A