It’s no secret that food insecurity is on the rise — in 2024, inflation, poverty, lack of public transportation, and unemployment have continued to affect households across the country. According to the Detroit Food Policy Council’s 2021 metrics report, 69% of households in Detroit experience food insecurity. And as in any city, certain ZIP codes in Detroit are at a higher risk than others.
Data-driven community programs and initiatives, however, have continued to identify these areas and provide solutions. Here’s how two Detroit-based organizations aim to help.
Detroit People’s Food Co-op Redefines the Modern Grocery Store
The Detroit People’s Food Co-op is making waves in the North End by serving its community through helping to provide food security and culinary opportunities.
For the uninitiated, a grocery store co-op is essentially an autonomous model free from corporate influence. That means the store possesses the unique ability to target customers’ needs directly. Co-ops typically operate through memberships, and the Detroit People’s Food Co-op is no different — a lifetime membership costs $200, though one isn’t required to shop.
Through democratic control, the DPFC aims to improve access to healthy food while also listening to the needs of its patrons. Reflecting this democracy on the store’s shelves can often be a tricky line to walk, but the sparkling new store, which opened in May, does so handily.
At the Detroit People’s Food Co-op, you’ll notice a wide breadth of products. Unlike Whole Foods Market, which famously bans ingredients including MSG and aspartame, the Detroit People’s Food Co-op lets customers make their own decisions. The grocery store features plenty of organic eggs, vegetables, frozen seafood, fresh grains, beans, alternative meats, and higher-end culinary ingredients, but it also carries snacks like Better Made chips and Faygo.
The co-op gets it right — while health and nutrition firmly stand at the forefront, they’re not piously pushed onto customers.
In addition to offering chef-prepared foods on-site, and a pretty awesome salad bar, the DPFC focuses on supporting local products: Detroit darling Baobab Fare has plenty available on the co-op shelves — coffee from Burundi and lots of premade meals.
The project has been 14 years in the making and marks the second Black-owned grocery in Detroit (Neighborhood Grocery is the other). In addition to the spacious grocery store, the space also houses offices, a banquet room, and community kitchens for rent. The kitchens help fill food-business owners’ need for prep space, which will hopefully foster more local culinary growth. Truly, the Detroit People’s Food Co-op exists solely to serve the community, and it serves it well.
Gleaners’ New ‘Fresh’ Concept Aims to Solve Food Insecurity in Warren
Gleaners is a community food bank that provides food to nearly 400 partnered soup kitchens, food pantries, schools, and other hunger relief agencies across the region. Its mission is to eliminate barriers to food access, but how? Well, you go where the people are.
Its newest initiative is called Fresh by Gleaners, a 5,000-square-foot fresh-produce food bank set to open in early 2025 on Eight Mile Road in Warren.
Kristin Sokul, senior director of advancement communications at Gleaners, is most excited about how the Fresh by Gleaners concept aims to meet clients’ needs directly. “We did a lot of community listening,” she says. While most food pantries focus on shelf-stable items, Fresh by Gleaners will instead provide perishable foods like eggs, dairy, and produce. “They are the items our guests tell us about over and over again.”
In addition to meeting the product needs of its guests, Fresh will also provide convenient curbside pickup and refrigerated storage lockers. As Sokul notes, work schedules, lack of transportation, and family obligations sometimes make it difficult to shop in person during store hours, but at Fresh, customers will be able pick up the items when they need them. “The model isn’t appointment- based,” Sokul says. “If you need milk on Monday, you come in on Monday.”
Gleaners chose the city of Warren specifically because of its population density and need. According to a 2021 American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau, 86,965 people live within a 3-mile radius of the projected Fresh site, with nearly 30% of those residents experiencing poverty. The report also illuminates that among the 21,399 children in the area, about 44% live in poverty.
“Fresh by Gleaners is an example of the power of collaboration to solve complex problems like food insecurity,” said Gerry Brisson, president and CEO of Gleaners, in a press release. “By seeking input from our guests, community partners, and donors, and using data to inform and guide our decisions, we can improve how we walk alongside families and break down barriers in their journey to thrive.”
This story originally appeared in the August 2024 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Our digital edition will be available on Aug. 6.
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