Asked about it, Kalil Steward said the trip to start a production service began years before he was born. The first seed
The pastor closed the shop before he was born, but he remembers talking about his family as a place of pride. Neighbors came to buy fresh fruits and vegetables and often stopped talking to each other and to the street clerk. “He did a lot for the community,” says Steward.
Growing up in Philadelphia, Steward left his community after seeing his grandfather’s seemingly closed neighborhood store. For easy access to vegetables and fruits
List of citizens serving food to citizens
In 2019, catering began to fill the gap. The pharmacy buys fruits and vegetables primarily from local black and brown farmers, making them affordable for Philadelphia residents. The pastor delivers the product to an average of 50 families each week, including Franny Lucy Pocket and the Sunday Fish Market.
The customers are primarily elderly and important parents provide healthy food for their children – but for those who do not have access to a new product. There are no supermarkets near where most of my customers live.
This year, Steward is working to enable customers to purchase food using SNAP / EBT benefits and plans to launch it. Food storage program at Alma University at Delaware Valley University. “I think this pharmacy will help us grow and work on our mission – it will eliminate food security,” he said.
The roots of food justice
A.D. By 2020, 16.3% of Philadelphia residents are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. And many Philadelphians do not even have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. In the 2019 report, more than 80% of retail stores in the city have low supply of fruits and vegetables. Grocery stores that supply fresh produce are concentrated in five districts: Central City, University City, West Mountain Air, Chest Hill Hill and Upper Roxborough.
In college, Steward volunteered as a marketer for the Deladelphia Valley Charity Garden, which provides fresh fruits and vegetables to marketed Philadelphia marketers. He later joined the Carverville Agricultural Foundation. This is a non-profit organization.
But it was the market placement that inspired his business ideas. He suggested using the old ambulance as part of a marketing campaign for mobile food delivery services. The name of the business is Pharmacy, a word game that suggests food can be the best medicine.
After graduating from college, Stewayer retired and worked for several months in a community-based farming system in Cape Town, South Africa. Next to the house, he served as an agricultural manager, an urban entrepreneur, and an agricultural cooperative in northeastern Philadelphia. He later got a job as a warehouse manager for ShareFood, one of Philadelphia’s largest famine relief companies. When the Covenant-19 epidemic hit the city for the first time, food sharing played a major role in feeding people. Pastor recalls working with them to feed more than 5,000 people in March 2020.
“It taught me that whites grow. If you want a healthy diet, you should go to the markets, especially in white areas. Pharmacy copies that legend and offers the best way to buy local products. “
Working on a farm and distributing food to those in need, Steward interacts with black and brown farmers, as well as those who grow food in urban areas. I saw a different perspective.
The latest USADA agricultural census found that only 1.3% of US farmers were black. However, while working on the farm, Steward was an innovative black urban producer who made good use of limited farmland and used high-quality fruits and chemical-free farming techniques. I noticed that I was growing vegetables. He wanted to support them as he built his business.
Steward participated in meeting with farmers in Philadelphia who wanted to help pedogenesis of black and brown lead producers. “That’s how I gained the trust of farmers and became friends with them,” says Steward. “It’s not just business. I actually call some of these farmers my brothers. ”
After all, they have a common purpose. To provide the highest quality of domestic production. For example, NS Sankofa Community Farm has Bertrams Garden, a weekly farm to provide access to local King Sessing and the Elmwood Park. But of course, some people can’t get to the farm (or Clark Park Farmers’ Market on Saturday). Steward’s delivery services help these farmers deliver their produce to more people.
Share with Sankofa, Farmacy Milk leak farm farm and land manager for D&D farms, Blair Banks, Berks County, West Philadelphia. Each week, Steward receives agricultural products such as greens, canned cabbage, cherry tomatoes, blueberries, and apples. He works with black farmers in other parts of the country to buy a wide range of products, such as avocados and oranges.
Community building
One of the things that makes a pharmacy special is the relationship between the pastor and the client. Each time he stopped, it took time to talk. He asks what kind of fruits and vegetables he can order. Find out if they have access to a local grocery store and occasionally offer free meals to troubled customers.
After launching her business on Instagram, Nunera Amun began ordering products through pharmacies in the summer of 2020. She appreciates the time to provide free food and appreciates her private text message when she realizes that she has not bought it for some time.
“Usually when I go to the grocery store or grocery store I feel like I have a lot of transactions, but when I shop at the pharmacy I feel like I have visited my family,” Amun says. Farmers’ markets are truly unique and we hope that they will be the future of all agricultural markets in this country.
Related: Read about the best locals in the Citizen’s Register of the Week
This trade also changed Amun’s attitude toward urban farmers and agriculture. “I am very happy with the idea of getting local produce from black and brown farmers,” she said. “It taught me that whites grow. If you want a healthy diet, you should go to the markets, especially in white areas. Pharmacy copies that legend and offers the best way to buy local products. “
Shipping customers can order an online harvest bag with 3 fruits, 3 vegetables and 2 vegetables for $ 30. Farmers also sell in the markets, for example every two weeks Franni Fate Pop Pop-up and Fish Town Second Sunday Market.
A mission beyond money
Steward’s goal is to keep the pharmacy affordable. For now, the company’s delivery schedule provides a payment plan and takes people at the beginning of the month to consider when they will benefit from public assistance. It is also applying for SNAP and EBT benefits through the USA Food and Nutrition Services Division. This allows your business to reach more customers. 2019, 459,000 Philadelphia I received SNAP benefits.
“It’s not just business. I actually call some of these farmers my brothers. ”
Meanwhile, Steward is working with the University of Delaware Valley to build a food warehouse on campus. He explains that food shortages can be especially challenging for students who cannot afford a campus meal plan. A.D. In 2016, famine reported on campus – 48% of American college students were malnourished.
Food insecurity in college is even more serious, says Steward. I remember a student who hid in a cafeteria over the weekend to get enough food.
Steward recently quit his job in the food chain and worked full-time in a pharmacy. He made enough money to support himself and brought in Lynsey Troy, a graduate student at Delaware Valley University. The goal is to support small workers one day while providing access to fresh produce for as many people as possible.
“I’m not really trying to sell products and become a millionaire,” he said. I am trying to make sure my neighborhood is good.
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Farmer Founder, Kalil Stewar Selfie (courtesy of @bxadigital)
Pharmacy fights food security with black Philadelphia agricultural products
Source Link Pharmacy Fight Food Security with Black Philadelphia Agricultural Products