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Mandela MarketPlace is a non-profit organization in Oakland, California that works to aid low-income people and communities in improving access to food and health care resources.
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Past Projects
From 2007 to 2013, Mandela MarketPlace sustained the West Oakland Youth Standing Empowered (WYSE) youth development program.The WYSE program focused on educating West Oakland’s youth on the social justice impacts of food and health. WYSE focused on improving the health of West Oakland communities through initiatives such as improving the walkability of West Oakland, bettering the public transit infrastructure, cleaning and improving local parks, and starting an elementary school garden.
Mandela MarketPlace also sustained the Food to Families (F2F) program, which focused on “[providing] health & wellness workshops, cooking demos, and group experiences for community families.” F2F primarily worked with pregnant women and their families by educating them on how eating healthier and more nutritious food would improve their health and the health of their communities. F2F also worked to create a network that would sustain the goals of the program past its own existence. This network is responsible for the creation of a cookbook made by “senior moms” titled “Mommas Kitchen Stove.”
Financing
Mandela MarketPlace is a non-profit organization. They also sustain the Mandela Foods Cooperative, a worker and community owned grocery store. The economic success and sustainability of the food cooperative is not its only goal, as Dana Harvey, the Executive Director of Mandela MarketPlace advocates, “If you bring a grocery store into a community, it can catalyze a lot of other businesses.” Another project that Mandela has initiated is Ladder Up Financing or Microfinance. They not only offer access to healthy food, they also offer support to West Oakland residents financially by endorsing residents in obtaining micro loans of up to $25,000. "As a community resource, [Mandela MarketPlace] also [provides] one-on-one support to local entrepreneurs that are eligible for loans (as needed), and connect them to [their] resource network to help them build their businesses."
Food Cooperative
In 2009, Mandela MarketPlace successfully opened The Mandela Foods Cooperative. It is independently owned, yet has a strong relationship with Mandela MarketPlace in order to foster their vision of a more just and equitable food system in West Oakland. The inception of the Mandela Foods Co-op is in response to requests made to Mandela Marketplace by residents of West Oakland. It is a worker owned business that not only operates a full-service retail grocery store, but also a nutrition education center that supports families and helps to envision a healthy community. The co-op holds classes focused on nutrition education and is centrally located two blocks from the West Oakland BART station making it accessible to both West Oakland residents and other residents of the Bay Area.
The Mandela Foods Cooperative has received the following awards for their achievements in harvesting food justice:
Food Distribution
The Mandela Foods Cooperative "sources their produce from small to medium sized local farms within a 120-mile radius from Oakland." Their Mandela Foods Distribution network helps connect local farmers into a network of West Oakland residents who are interested in knowing where their food is sourced. They focus on sourcing food from "under-resourced farmers by establishing an alternative distribution network that passes on wholesale prices to community retailers and institutions."
Current Projects
Mandela MarketPlace set its goal to build a local economy, increase food access, and support family farmers and a healthier community. They have started several flourishing projects such as Healthy Neighborhood Store Alliance (HNSA), aiming to secure residents’ rights in West Oakland to access healthy and affordable food. HNSA offers delivery service to some of the community’s well-known corner stores and also offers nutrition education and improvements at each store. Interested neighbors can download easy to read information on the program, and applications for joining the program are available on their website.
Mandela MarketPlace also manages weekly events at specific locations so that residents are able to purchase fresh produce in a convenient and friendly atmosphere. Mandela MarketPlace also participates in the Ashland Cherryland Initiative. They are coordinating with several community programs in Ashland and Cherryland by creating the Ashland Cherryland Food Policy Council, which provides advice to local government on policies that produce greener environments.