In parts of west Charlotte, it can be hard for residents to find a job — or fresh, healthy food. A festival last weekend aimed to unite local organizations and highlight community-driven efforts to tackle both of those problems in a low-income community.
Children's playful screams and laughter echoed Saturday at the festival off Clanton Road and West Boulevard. Near the children, Vinnie Morris browsed one of the dozen tents set up in a spacious grass area, searching for scotch bonnet amongst a range of fresh produce. Morris is originally from Philadelphia but has lived in Charlotte for eight years. She says she was glad to see the festival meeting community needs.
“This, for me, is so enjoyable, to be a part of a community that is growing and wants to support their community by providing things that aren't normally available, especially the farmers market, growing things here, providing fresh fruits and vegetables,” Morris said.
Morris bought collard greens and other items grown in a nearby community garden. The garden is part of the West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition's efforts to address the corridor's lack of healthy food. The festival also addressed some of the area’s economic needs. At a tent nearby, a boy learned how to make a profit from the Money Magnets Club.
Alexandra Arrington is the executive director of the Money Magnets Club, a local program that teaches kids about entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Arrington says the program works to help change the narrative surrounding West Boulevard.
“It's no secret that we live in a corridor where the ZIP code has really statistically bad social determinants of health,” Arrington said. "We are 50 out of 50 in terms of economic mobility, which essentially says kids that are born in this ZIP code have very little or a small chance of coming out of poverty when they are adults in the same ZIP code.”
Sharika Comfort is the executive director of the West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition, which organized the festival.
“We opened the opportunity for West Boulevard businesses to come out and vend and sell their products — for-profit businesses, as well as nonprofits, to offer services,” Comfort said. “We have the American Heart Association out here giving CPR demonstrations, showing residents how to safely execute CPR. So, it's a really big push for community, and it was important that we got all of our community organizations in our community businesses involved.”
A key part of the festival focused on educating residents about the efforts to bring a full-service grocery store to the corridor. Across the road, people gathered in the Charlotte Mecklenburg West Boulevard Library to watch a film. Comfort says the film documents how the community has worked to overcome the challenges in the corridor.
“It tells the story of community resiliency starting with breaking down the challenge in the West Boulevard Corridor, having been a food desert with no operable grocery store within a one-mile radius for over 30 years,” Comfort said.
Brenda Walker, who attended the festival, says it would be nice to have a grocery store that’s accessible — with affordable prices.
"That would be great to have a grocery store right in this community because all you have is these little convenience stores which are very high (prices), and it's not in walking distance for a lot of people,” Walker said. "So, it would be great to have a grocery store that you can just walk to and order groceries. And as long as they don't up the prices too much in this area.”
Walker has lived in the corridor for over 30 years; she says she was delighted to see the range of resources available. “It's good to see everybody coming together to do things for the community and to be able to help the livelihood around here to be better, especially for the Black people because we don't usually get these things in our neighborhood.”
The coalition has received about $5 million from city, county, and federal funds to support building a co-op grocery store off Clanton Road and West Boulevard. The total cost of the store is expected to be about $10 million. The coalition plans to start a campaign this year to raise the remaining funds.
