World We Imagine Post 1
Food insecurity is an on-going issue in the United States and throughout the world. Food is one of the three basic needs for survival, yet so many people don’t know where their next meal will come from. We all need food, but we don’t all have access to food. Not only is it challenging to find food, but there are minimal healthy and affordable options. With an increase in food deserts, there is an evident lack of affordable healthy options. Organic and nutritious food should not be reserved only for people who can pay a premium; it should be accessible to everyone.
There is a stigma against homelessness that people are lazy, addictive, or incompetent, but often it is a case of people without luck or opportunities. I see this stigma almost every day in the way we treat homelessness in society. One of the reasons why it is so hard for people to exit the streets when experiencing homelessness is because it is difficult to find a job. If you don’t have prior work experience or don’t have an address, employers are uninterested in hiring you.
I want to help people with food insecurity or experiencing homelessness get opportunities that they are getting shut out of. My goal one day is to start a social enterprise that would work to not only help combating food insecurity, but also help employ people experiencing homelessness. It is a cycle that is really hard to get out of, and I want to try and fix it in any way I can. At my social enterprise, I want to provide opportunities for people experiencing homelessness to get out of the continuous cycle of rejection. Having worked with a different organization trying to combat homelessness, I believe this is the most beneficial way to help.
Rachel, I truly wish you the best of luck; I totally agree that the twin problems of food insecurity and homelessness desperately need fixing. My job is to suggest a way forward for you. Please forgive the naivety of my suggestion. I don't have a lot of experience working with this kind of problem.
ReplyDeleteYour organization can lease an unused dirt lot near Skid Row (or other homeless concentration area). Raise some funding to place cheap, temporary housing on 1/3 of the land. The other 2/3 would be converted into a garden. Your group can recruit homeless people to work and live on the "farm". Plant heirloom varieties that grow well in the local area; I suggest tomatoes, rosemary, citrus fruit, and succulents for Los Angeles. The produce and plants will be sold at farmer's markets around the city. Brand the food similar to how Homeboy Industries does it: released felons work to bake bread and other goods. Something like "Homes thru Heirlooms". Unsold, but nutritious product can be consumed by the collective afterward, so nothing is wasted.
Excess funds can be used to hire addiction and psychiatric counselors to help the residents as well. All the progress will be made public through a huge social media presence. If you can get videos of previously-homeless people working the land to grow food and a sell-able product to go viral, it would go a long way towards changing that negative social stigma you mentioned earlier.
Good luck on your beautiful dream!
Rachel, fantastic and very thoughtful writing on what we can do to make our world a better place. Food insecurity and homelessness definitely are important issues within our world that needs fixing. Personally I've witnessed that homelessness is very apparent across many major cities, and food security is too often an issue for those suffering from low income, or even elderly who live far away in rural areas. Your plan to begin a social enterprise would be helpful to address both issues, which is fantastic. On a business model, I would encourage you to detail those plans on profitability and longevity of the business as I understand homelessness can high turnover rates.
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts Rachel. I think a major point that should be addressed in the pitch is the issue of the address. Even if someone is extremely qualified or hardworking, not having an address can definitely be off-putting to employers. Something that's less pleasant to think about is if someone ends up not doing work even when given opportunities. How would you approach that problem? Let's say you adopt Dennis's model. Who would pay for the food the people need while the plants are still growing? I feel that there are many minor issues that will come up with this topic, but I can't wait to see how you think this problem should be addressed.
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel, I love your ideas on employing the homeless. I think most of the time, when we think about homelessness, we tend to only think about how we can help fund places like the food drive or food bank. However, I love how you thought beyond just the meal itself, but how can you break them out of homelessness. I am so excited to read your business model and organization pitch on how to bring this change into society. It is an incredibly difficult task, but I think with some strategic planning and a passionate team, I think you are on the right track to finding that solution. In addition, I think Dennis has an interesting idea, so I can’t wait to hear more about your plan in the future.
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