So far one of the things I’ve struggled with the most is coming up with an “elevator speech” for our project. It’s hard to describe everything we are doing and what the YMCA wants to do to help Durham lose five million pounds in ten years, but I think our visit to TROSA Grocery yesterday helped make things a lot clearer for me. For those of you who haven’t been there, TROSA Grocery is a small grocery store that sells fresh fruits and vegetables, along with other groceries. It is located in what was considered a “food desert” since people lacked easy access to affordable, healthy foods. The prices are low because they are subsidized by donations. Seeing the amazing work TROSA is doing and talking about how our project can help in the future-for example, by providing produce from a YMCA
farm- showed me what this project is all about: we are trying to bring people together, figure out what problems exist, what’s being done about them, work together and support each other to better our community. One thing that’s always bothered me in my classes and research is that it seems there are so many people and organizations doing great work, but I’ve always thought they would be more effective if they came together. And that’s exactly what we are doing with this project! I’m looking forward to learning even more about what’s out there and how we can all work together!
– Rebecca Kahn
