Cleveland food stories

Episode Three- Regenerating the Rust Belt

One of the primary underlying causes of food insecurity is economic- residents facing unemployment or even the working poor (people working full time that do not have enough at the end of the month to make ends meet). In the third episode of Cleveland Food Stories - Regenerating the Rust Belt - we look at the connecting threads between improving access to healthy foods and the creation of new employment and enterprise opportunities. This episode features several social enterprises - non-profits that follow business principals or for-profits with strong social missions. Together they are working to improve food security through economic development.

FEATURED ORGANIZATIONS:

HIP Cuyahoga - is a collaborative initiative between Cuyahoga County Public Health, health care partners, and grassroots leaders.

Green City Growers - is a worker-owned hydroponic greenhouse enterprise that is a part of the Evergreen Cooperative network of social enterprises.

Simon’s Grocery Buckeye - is a newly opened grocer on Cleveland’s east-side that, through community organizing, replaced a previous grocer that abandoned the Buckeye neighborhood. 

Food Access Raises Everyone (FARE) - is a collaborative initiative facilitated by The Philadelphia-based Food Trust which works to foster collaboration in greater Cleveland to improve access to healthy food.

City Fresh - is a social enterprise that works to improve equity in the local food system by combining healthy local food access, community connections, and support of Northeast Ohio farmers. 

North Olmsted Farm to School - is a Farm to School initiative that seeks to educate students about healthy eating through school gardening and procurement of healthy foods grown by Ohio farmers.

Quarry Hill Orchards - is a fourth generation orchard in Erie County that supplies locally grown fruits to Cleveland-area schools and local markets. 

Farm Fare - is a collaborative enterprise comprised of seven Northeast Ohio local food hubs that seeks to increase local food purchasing by streamlining ordering, warehousing, and distribution. 

Lake to River Cooperative - is a farmer and consumer cooperative enterprise based in Youngstown that operates a local foods cafe and a distribution hub. 

Rust Belt Riders -is a social enterprise that links food waste collection from businesses and institutions to the regeneration of residential and agricultural soils. 

Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition - features a diverse coalition of institutional and grassroots partners focused on creating policies supportive of a healthy local food system.

Watch Episode 3 Here