Community Development Addressing Food Insecurity
Market at Eastpoint, a Project of Restore OKC
Food insecurity faces millions of families across the United States, impacting rural and urban communities alike. Hunger, as a symptom of the disease of poverty, has extreme impacts on health outcomes, educational achievement and a family’s ability to achieve upward economic mobility.
In the northeast quadrant of Oklahoma City, the only grocery store closed in the summer of 2019. Prior to this closure, the area was already considered a food desert. Many folks were now forced to take a multi-hour bus ride to reach a grocery option, and the NE OKC community became even more desperate for a solution to dramatic food insecurity. As the search was on for a solution, community leaders met regularly and a solution was identified as a partnership between a local organization and Homeland Stores, an Oklahoma owned grocery chain.
Opened in April, 2021, the Market at Eastpoint provides a beautiful grocery experience in a community that was lacking appropriate food resources with a ‘Gritty Whole Foods’ vibe. In episode 3, Secretary Brown talks with Bob Ross, the CEO of Inasmuch Foundation and Caylee Dodson & Jonathan Veal, with Restore OKC about community development as a solution to combatting food insecurity.
Podcast Participants:
Justin Brown, Secretary of Human Services
Robert J ‘Bob’ Ross, Chief Executive Officer, Inasmuch Foundation
Caylee Dodson, Chief Executive Officer, Restore OKC
Jonathan Veal, Director of Development & Director of Restore Jobs
Organizations Reference:
Inasmuch Foundation
(URL: inasmuchfoundation.org | Instagram & Twitter: @inasmuchfdn)
Restore OKC
(URL: restoreokc.org | Twitter: @restoreokc | Instagram: restore.okc)
Market at Eastpoint
(URL: marketateastpoint.org | Twitter: @marketeastpoint | Instagram: marketateastpoint | Facebook: @marketateastpoint)
Homeland Stores
(URL: homelandstores.org | Twitter: @homelandstores | Instagram: homelandstores | Facebook: @homelandgrocerystores)
