Food deserts are purposeful systemic racism. Vote for this Black-owned food hall.

Food deserts, the lack of access to healthy food and grocery stores, disproportionately affect Black communities. Instead of national food chains in our communities, you find McDonalds, corner stores, and 7-Elevens within walking distance of one another. 

This is done under the guise that the median income in these communities is too low for large chains to want to invest in them.

Without government and business investment in these communities, food deserts lead to poor diets, obesity, chronic illness, cardiovascular disease and premature death. Residents in these communities are dying up to 16 years earlier then residents in communities with healthy food options. 

This is purposeful and systemic.

So what are steps we can take right now as community members and activists to change this? One woman, Mary Blackford, has founded Market 7, a Black-owned business and sustainable platform for Black vendors to sell fresh produce and other sustainable goods in Washington, DC’s Ward 7. The space will serve as the incubator of the new food hall at Benning Market. Market 7 will be a critical community based solution in the restoration of economic stability, health, and social needs for residents east of the river in Washington, D.C.  

With places like Union Market and Mess Hall DC catering to more gentrified communities, Market 7 will bring fresh food and entrepreneurial opportunities to an underserved area.

For Market 7 to be built out, Mary needs OUR help. She is 1 of 3 semi-finalists in the nationwide Essence + Pine Sol’s Build Your Legacy Grant Competition. The contest, ending July 1, will provide one Black woman-owned business with a grant of $100,000. 

Vote for Market 7 today and help one woman take a huge step towards alleviating food discriminiation in DC! 

Market 7 will create a blueprint that can be replicated in underserved Black communities across the country.

Vote for Market 7: https://www.essence.com/your-legacy3/
Website: www.market7dc.com
Email: info@market7dc.com