CCED Flint Update
By: Bob Brown, MSU CCED Flint, Associate Director, brownr23@msu.edu
North Flint Food Market
CCED-Flint continues to partner with the North Flint Reinvestment Corporation and 400 individual and organizational members to build the North Flint Food Market, a 25,000 square foot food co-operative. The site has been remediated and our membership campaign is intensifying as we work towards the goal of 1,500 members.
According to Majee and Hoyt (2011), "Cooperatives have repeatedly proven useful for promoting the interests of less powerful members of society. They gather local people and pool their resources to gain power to participate in and influence market forces and community development. They promote community control, local control of capital, local ownership, local hiring, business and community leadership development, and the development of trusting relationships."
Water/Lead Recovery (CCED Flint continues to be a partner)
Communications Team: Tasked with creating trusted recovery communication to Flint residents, especially
those who are hard to reach.
General Weekly Sessions: Networking and information sharing sessions regarding recovery efforts.
Other Initiatives
CCED-Flint continues to participate with MSU researchers and community partners in the following efforts:
Pediatric Public Health Initiative: This 4 year, 14.1-million-dollar grant addresses the Flint community's population-wide lead exposure and will help all Flint children grow up healthy and strong. Central to the effort is the creation of a Lead Registry. Adults will also be assisted through this effort.
Community Based Crime Reduction (CBCR) Planning and Implementation Grant for the North Flint Revitalization Initiative: A 3 year 1 million dollar grant to reduce crime and improve community safety as part of a comprehensive strategy to advance neighborhood revitalization along the northern-most neighborhoods that make up Wards 1 and 3 in Flint.
ReCAST: A 5-year trauma reduction effort to deal with historical and water crisis trauma in Flint. Foundation for Agricultural Research: Finding the Proper Levers: Identifying leverage points for transformation in urban food systems through participatory modeling. This invited proposal is being submitted on November 11, 2017.
Aquaponic classes: The "hands on" bi-weekly classes are run throughout the Fall and will cover the science and application of Aquaponics. The classes are made possible by a small grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.
Neighborhoods Without Borders (NWB): CCED-Flint along with Flint Partners formed NWB in 2012. NWB is a community-based network that uses an asset-based approach to work on critical Flint neighborhood issues and their root causes.
- Tendaji Talks: Our current and ongoing efforts centers on working to dismantle systemic and institutional racism. We do this by understanding and working on White power and privilege and understanding African American history in Flint through a monthly speaker/dialogue series.
- Narrative Change:
- Ask an American: (conversations to create greater understanding across cultures and groups in Flint); Hugs for Unity (simple public action to help change the narrative of Flint); Kindness Rally (a venue that gives people a chance to voice the positive possibilities of kindness in a world consumed by anger and hate).
Flint Regional Food System Advisory Team: A Community Foundation 5-year project to create and equitable and sustainable Flint Metro food system.