Fw: Please help Michele & Erich's "Apples & Oranges Fresh Market"

[LINDA K BROWN]

FYI

Good morning, all --

   As you know, I rarely (if ever!) send out e-mails such as this, seeking aid for a charity or enterprise. But Terral & I feel strongly about helping out Michele Speaks-March and her husband Erich March with their ambitious and worthy new grocery store in East Baltimore (at North Ave & N. Broadway). So please read below, and if you can, please help out their "grocery store that is more than a grocery store", that opened over a year ago to help bring healthy food & healthy eating habits to a "food desert" area in East Baltimore. (Quick definition: a "food desert" is an area avoided by the big chain groceries, often served by small corner groceries that carry little or nothing in the way of fresh fruit & vegetables.)

   We're writing in hopes of helping out someone we all know and whose work & energy we have long admired: Michele Speaks-March and her husband Erich March. 

  Please JOIN US in helping Michele & Erich's "Apples & Oranges Fresh Market" in Baltimore by giving to their "gofundme" website today! This is a store that is more than just a store; it is a community center and source of food/nutrition education in a deeply-challenged part of the city, as well. To learn more, please keep reading or click on http://www.gofundme.com/AOFreshMarket

  Michele & Erich's one-year-old store needs our help: it is a worthy and ambitious project. Again, more than just a grocery store, it was recently highlighted on NBC's Today Show (see link below). But for long-term sustainability, Michele & Erich are restructuring its finances; the store needs to meet its short-term goal of $5,000 in financial  help, to continue to operate and thrive. Please give today, on their "gofundme" website, as Terral and I have done.

   Apples & Orange Fresh Market is located on North Ave. in East Baltimore, which is one of Baltimore's "food deserts", where full-size markets are few and far between (or non-existent).  In contrast, in addition to selling a well-rounded selection of healthy food, Apples & Oranges Fresh Market aims to be a community center educating parents & children alike about healthy eating, especially the benefits of fruits & vegetables. Michele & Erich hope that their medium-sized but fully-stocked grocery will help wean local adults and children off unhealthy foods high in fat, sugar, and empty calories.

The suggested giving amounts on the "gofundme" website should be able to fit anyone's budget, ranging from $10 to the full $5,000 goal. But even if you can't give right away, please forward this email on to anyone you think might be interested in helping. And -- as an "Apples & Oranges Fresh Market" shopper myself -- we heartily recommend going to the store & seeing it for yourself! Maybe do some of your own grocery shopping there! {DIRECTIONS: The store is at 1900 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21213 (at the corner of Broadway & Northern). (From the JFX/I-83, take the North Ave exit, turn east onto North Ave., and go a number of traffic lights to the light at N. Broadway; the store is on the left, on the corner. Plenty of parking right out front.)}

Here is the "Today Show" clip, about "Apples & Oranges Fresh Market" and other initiatives in our area to support healthy eating and nutritional habits:

 http://www.nbcnews.com/id/36090945?launch=55536431&config=26185044

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       * * * *  (Description from the gofundme site) * * * * *

                (just in case anyone has trouble with the link) 

                      http://www.gofundme.com/AOFreshMarket

One of the most pressing concerns facing America today is the lack of access to healthy affordable food in underserved communities. According to a recent study, 24.8 million Americans, including 6.2 million children and 32 million seniors, live in so called food deserts—areas that lack full-service supermarkets or stores likely to sell affordable and healthy foods. In inner city Baltimore, The Social Compact, Inc. identified 140 grocers of which 49 are full service. That equates to 1.8 full service grocery stores for every 10,000 household. Limited food choices are contributing to dangerously high rates of obesity and diet-related chronic diseases. In Baltimore City, one third of the adult population is obese based on self-reported height and weight data. 

Michele Speaks-March and Erich W. March opened Apples and Oranges Fresh Market in Baltimore City, in March of 2013 to address the food disparity in their East Baltimore community. Investing more than $1.3 million in construction and equipment, Michele and Erich made the decision to stop talking about the problem and start addressing the problem. The result is a beautiful full service grocery store which is adding value by providing access to healthy and nutritious food, offering various food educational and informational programs, supporting jobs for community residents and spurring additional residential and commercial investments in the community. We need your help to keep this cause afloat. 

Why you should care: 
Many Baltimore City’s neighborhoods lack full service supermarkets. But, having access to nutritious foods and establishing a healthier lifestyle is an issue that extends beyond Baltimore City. Communities all over the United States are directly impacted by food deserts and limited access to resources that promote a healthier lifestyle. We are working courageously to create a retail model that will help Baltimore City residents change their unhealthy habits and ultimately a model for other underserved communities as well. What we know is: 

• The presence of a fresh market allows people the option to choose healthier diets for themselves and their children. 

• The presence of a fresh market provides an alternative to convenience store offerings which help combat childhood obesity and the overwhelming health concerns that follow. 

• The presence of a fresh market also helps to improve the economy by providing jobs to local residents. 

• The presence of fresh food markets increase the surrounding real estate values and encourage commercial and residential development in the community. 

Additional Resources: 
Baltimore City Food Policy Initiative
Baltimore City Food Policy Task Force (2009) 
Policy Changes: Minimizing Food Deserts 
Food Desert Statistics (SouthBaltimore City Food Environment Research ern Poverty Law Center) 
Baltimore City Food Environment Research

[LINDA K BROWN]

Yes I do know about this and I am sharing with others.  Thanks.

Glad you had an interesting trip.

 

"Only after the last tree has been cut down, only after the last river has been poisoned, only after the last fish has been caught - only then will you find that money cannot be eaten." - Cree Indian proverb