What's the Tea with Ministry?
Welcome to What’s the Tea with Ministry!
Where we spill the tea on the Jesuit and Mercy mission at the University of Detroit Mercy! Bringing you mission-centered conversation through storytelling, reflection, and community connection all over a cup of tea.
What's the Tea with Ministry?
Nourishing Our Community
Discover how the Titan Equity Nourish Network (TENN) at the University of Detroit Mercy is transforming Detroit's food landscape through Community collaboration and student-led initiatives. What if students could spearhead a movement that reshapes a community's relationship with food? Hear from Chelsea, the passionate program manager, and Serena, an inspiring student leader, as they share how TENN's mission to address food justice and sustainability is making a tangible impact in Detroit. From battling food insecurity to overcoming challenges like transportation and the lack of affordable grocery stores, TENN's collaborative efforts with local partners are paving the way for a more food-just city.
Chelsea and Serena open up about their personal journeys from being unaware of food insecurity issues to becoming fervent advocates for change. This episode highlights the transformative power of food as an essential human need and a unifying force within communities. TENN's community-centered approach is brought to life with heartwarming stories of garden picnics and produce deliveries, emphasizing the importance of community input and engagement in shaping effective solutions. The richness of shared experiences underscores the vital role of collaboration and the profound impact of providing access to healthy food.
Explore how Detroit Mercy students are finding their niche within TENN's garden initiative and connecting with the university's mission of service and cultural diversity. Serena's path from home gardening during the pandemic to leading TENN activities is a testament to students' meaningful contributions to their community. Chelsea and Serena also reflect on their personal interests, like the joy of backpacking and the sentimental value of stuffed animals, weaving together a narrative of connection and fulfillment. As you listen, you'll be inspired by the vibrant community engagement and how TENN's work not only nurtures gardens but also cultivates a stronger, more connected Detroit.
Welcome to what's the Tea with Ministry where we spill the tea.
Speaker 2:On the Jesuit and Mercy mission at the University of Detroit Mercy.
Speaker 1:Bringing you mission-centered conversation through storytelling, reflection and community connection. All over a cup of tea.
Speaker 2:Hosted by University Ministry and a student co-host, that's us.
Speaker 1:I'm Anna Bryson University Minister, and I'm Kateri Sollers, your student co-host.
Speaker 2:Today we're going to be talking with Chelsea and Serena.
Speaker 1:Chelsea is the program manager of the Titan Equity Nourish Network, also known as TEN, a student-led and community-driven food justice program at the University of Detroit, Mercy. As the program manager, Chelsea oversees and guides student leaders throughout planning and implementation of food justice and sustainability projects on and off campus. Ten combines student passions and community wisdom for a more food-just Detroit. Fun fact, Chelsea is a big backpacker and her favorite place to backpack is the Porcupine Mountains.
Speaker 2:Serena is 19 years old. She is a garden manager for the garden on campus 410. She is also the vice president for a Chaldean religious group and a basketball assistant coach. Serena loves helping others and working hard to help and making a difference in our community. One fun fact about Serena is that she still sleeps with a stuffed animal at night.
Speaker 1:So let's talk with Chelsea and Serena. Welcome, chelsea and Serena. We are so excited to have you both here. We are so excited to learn a little bit more about TEN. I think since the inception of this podcast, I've been wanting to interview Chelsea and a student from TEN to talk a bit more about your programming and what you do and how you're combating food deserts in Detroit and how you are working towards food justice and making a more food justice Detroit, as you said. So I'm so excited to welcome you both to the podcast. We're so excited to have you. I'd love to just start with asking both of you and each of you can answer this question, because your answers are probably going to be different from a staff perspective and a student perspective of what is TEN.
Speaker 3:I'll go ahead and start. This is Chelsea here, and thank you for having us. So TEN is a student-led and community-driven food justice program on campus. We are student-led in that our team is made up of student employees, interns and volunteers who plan, implement all of the programming that we do. And then we're community-led in that we work directly with community leaders and community members in the areas that we serve and they help guide all of our work. They are with us through our strategic planning every step of the way and they really help guide us, ensuring that we are meeting community members' needs and taking into account things like preferences, cultures and all of that.
Speaker 1:Awesome, serena, from your perspective. What is TEN about?
Speaker 4:So, from my perspective other than what Chelsea said to me personally. Ten is more of a family. We help others and we give back to others in our community, and Chelsea truly established everything perfectly about what 10 is. But I would just like to add that our group that makes a true difference and by making the difference we're helping those in need.
Speaker 2:What is a mission of 10?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so the mission of 10 is to find solutions to problems within our food system and to create a more food-just Detroit. And so, with that and focusing on this justice model, it really pushes us to address a lot of areas of food access and justice in our communities. More traditional food access work would be delivering food, which we do, but we do a lot more than that, trying to really understand the problem of food insecurity more broadly. We do sustainability projects because a healthy planet is necessary to feed everybody. And then also with this justice model, as Serena touched on I really liked how she called it a family. It's part of that working directly with the community. We don't see ourselves as serving them or us as separate. We are a part of their community, they're a part of ours, and so it really is a true partnership which also goes into that justice model of how we're addressing food insecurity in our community. That's pretty cool.
Speaker 1:Can you talk to me a little bit more about what food insecurity in Detroit looks like, because I think a lot of us don't know the full scope or picture of what really happens, especially because we're in this urban context and I think often language of like food deserts and food access, often people picture places that are more rural. So what does that look like in our urban context?
Speaker 3:I think it really differs depending on what part of Detroit you are in. There are a lot of factors that contribute to whether or not somebody is food insecure, so part of that is definitely financial, which I think is the first thing that most people think of. But in Detroit there are a lot of other circumstances, such as transportation. Many Detroiters in fact I think it's somewhere around half of Detroiters don't have access to a reliable vehicle, and so that's creating the need to use public transportation, which Detroit is not known for the best public transit, and so issues like that, combined with the fact that the prevalence of affordable grocery stores is lacking in Detroit, produce in Detroit and all groceries cost significantly higher than in the suburbs.
Speaker 3:Also, there's a lot of areas of Detroit that just don't have a good grocery store. Even around our university there's a couple small, more mom-and-pop styles which they struggle even more to compete price-wise, which is hard for many Detroiters, and then mostly what's around are convenience stores, dollar stores, fast food. So it's interesting because what we found with 10, the people we work with they are food insecure, in that they don't always have access to healthy food. So there's really two sides of this. There's food insecurity for those who are in dire need of just food in general in order to survive, and that is a prevalent problem. But there's an even larger problem in probably all over the US of access to healthy food, and there's a lot of groups really trying to transition. Instead of just saying let's give people any food that we can get our hands on, how can we ensure that they're also getting healthy food? Because we have seen the impact of that on people's overall health and well-being. And actually I'm glad you used the word food desert because I'd love to use this as an opportunity to encourage people to learn more about the concept of food apartheid.
Speaker 3:There are certain leaders within the food justice movement in Detroit, like Malik Yakini, who is part of the food co-op that just opened up, and he talks about how food desert is actually an inaccurate term because it's not necessarily food desert is this idea that there's an area where there's no access to food, and that's not how Detroit is set up, and I bet there's not really any place that is set up like that.
Speaker 3:But what's a better way to think about it is using the concept of apartheid and the fact that some people have access to food while others do not. And I think, like the Whole Foods is a great example that technically was another grocery store added to Detroit, but that I like to call it whole paycheck is not accessible to many, many people, and I mean that location is in Detroit but it's right around the university. Those aren't necessarily the people. I'm sure some. That's not the area where likely there's the most concentration of people who struggle with food insecurity. So there still is. We always have to remember, and it's also with this justice model of thinking about all of the factors involved and acknowledging that systemic racism, our history, you know. All of these things combined into whether or not someone has food access.
Speaker 1:Great Serena. I want to ask you, from your perspective one I didn't ask this at the beginning how long have you been working with TEN?
Speaker 4:So I'm a sophomore, so I got introduced to TEN, I want to say towards the end of last year.
Speaker 1:Great. So can you tell me, in your experience thus far with TEN, what have you come to know and learn about food insecurity from your perspective?
Speaker 4:So personally I kind of didn't have much of an idea about food insecurity in Detroit. Once I connected with Chelsea and other people from the University of Detroit, Mercy, I learned a lot about how it's truly a struggle here in the heart of Detroit. I also learned like it's very wasteful. Sometimes we buy food and we throw it out without knowingly, Like I was growing up without a problem with food. So me meeting other people who struggled with it, honestly it touched me because I didn't have that problem. So seeing that problem with someone else and me being I'm a person who likes to help, so I wanted to make it a goal to help those people.
Speaker 2:Awesome, no thanks. What makes you passionate about food justice and sustainability For me.
Speaker 3:I was really introduced to this work. Before this, I worked at Gleaners Food Bank and I think that food is just one of those fundamental things that everyone needs, obviously to survive, but it is also so personal and such a big part of celebrations, the way that people connect, and it's just so integrated into every aspect of our lives and I think it's also at the root of you know. Without it you can't do anything else. If you don't have enough food, if you're not nourished, it impacts every aspect of the rest of your life. So to me, it was a great way to connect with people. With food in general and then helping people who lack adequate access to healthy food is such a direct way that you can impact somebody's well-being and then, within that work, there's so many opportunities for, like, amazing connections and just relationship building, because it is so fundamental to our society. Awesome.
Speaker 4:What about you, serena, could impact the life of another person for the problem of the food justice and how people don't have much access to it by helping them. Like me being the manager of the garden, me putting hard work into it and seeing the fruits of the garden, like seeing the vegetables and the produce that's providing, and me being able to physically, like Chelsea said, making that connection, going and giving the donations to those people who need it. I'm also receiving something in return, as, where it's not just a one-way transaction, where I'm also receiving, I'm feeling nourished and I'm feeling fulfilled, even if it's not directly with food, I'm meeting, making new connections, feeling loved and appreciated. I love helping people. So overall, even with food justice and other things anywhere that I seem fit, I would like to help people make a difference because if I have that opportunity, I would love to fulfill it.
Speaker 4:And growing up and still now, my family, as Chelsea knows, we have a few different restaurants. My grandma's like whole motto, with her restaurants and different food markets, is like we. She tries her best to make a customer get a full amount with a small price, not much more so to benefit her in the process, but to make it a good benefit both ways, where somebody who may be able to pay for something may not have to pay a huge extreme price, and they're also getting a healthy meal in advance for it.
Speaker 1:Awesome. I think one of the things you talked about in the very beginning, chelsea, both of you have mentioned is the aspect of, like, community connection and family. I'd love to hear a little bit more about like how TEN interacts with our community here in Detroit and what that relationship has done for your experiences here with TEN and with our institution.
Speaker 4:So I want to say this past summer we had a huge impact with this we hosted a couple of garden picnics or garden parties as you want to say where we had the community members. If they weren't able to drive, some people in our group members, if they weren't able to drive some people in our group offered to go and drive them over and we had a nice meal together and we talked about what maybe they needed for future help and maybe what we also needed and could connect with them with. During the picnic we also picked vegetables together and we learn new things from each other. Some community members have wonderful meals that they prepare and they know of, that some of us don't know of and that we learn about.
Speaker 3:The community aspect of this job is one of my favorite parts. As I mentioned earlier, we really work with them at every stage. So actually both of our produce deliveries we do on every Friday and every other Monday. Those were started by community leaders coming to us with an identified need, and that is very powerful because too often it's the experts or the ones with the resources going into a problem and thinking they have all the answers, and often they miss the mark. There's lots of anecdotal, hilarious stories where well-intended people waste a lot of time and money because they didn't go actually talk with the people that they're trying to help and because of that we've been able to foster this relationship throughout. So there were members of the community on the hiring committee that hired me. So they actually interviewed me because they had a stake and it was valuable to have their input. They help us with our strategic planning. And then, like Serena was mentioning, with the garden party, we are very intentional in trying to find ways for us all just to spend time together and build that community. The garden parties this summer were fantastic.
Speaker 3:During the academic school year we do regular game nights, we have our community meal, which will be November 8th, that's Friday, and these are all just chances where we really want to bring everyone together, and I think it's valuable for our program in that we are more effective. So, like learning, we grew okra in the garden for the first time this year. Neither Serena or I have experience with it, and we learned from a community member that we were letting them grow way too big, and so it's without those direct interactions with people with way more experience than we have in some of these areas, we miss out on all of that learning. And that's where we also try to bring community members. As student leaders and like the manager of 10, we see community members a lot, but we also try to have that interaction for drop-in volunteers when possible.
Speaker 3:Our Monday produce deliveries are a great example because it's at a senior center and self-contained, so we often just spend some time chatting and hanging with the people and it's always wonderful. Our society is too siloed. Most people don't stray far from where they grew up, and it's not intentional, it's just the way things are. But because of that we miss out on amazing experiences from different generations, people from different backgrounds and all of that. And with these interactions with our young students, with many of the people, especially at the senior center much older, with completely different. It's just the most beautiful thing. Last Monday, our delivery we had so much fun because we just hung out center much older with completely different. It's just the most beautiful thing. Last monday, our delivery we had so much fun because we just hung out for like a half an hour with these community members. They were hilarious, they were so kind and amazing and that connection and interaction is just the best yeah, that sounds awesome.
Speaker 1:I think so much of our student body has heard of 10 and most often associates it with food deliveries. I I'd love to know a bit more. I mean, obviously we just talked about connecting with community and having conversation and engaging in relationship and friendship with members of our wider Detroit community, but I'd love to hear a little bit more about some of the other programming that you do that either our students can get involved with or can attend to learn more.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we have the deliveries. Then we have our sustainability committee. So that committee is meeting right now bi-weekly and works on projects on campus, different types of sustainability projects. So our first event of the year will be a composting event. We do this every year. We will be inviting student orgs to collect the most compost and donate to us. And this is really meant as a conversation starter of talking about food waste, because obviously it's only a one-time event.
Speaker 3:The impact but we did divert a lot of waste last year because we collected, I think, over 1,000 pounds. We got a lot of pumpkins. Those things are heavy. So planning that is one way. We will, in in November, start planning our end of year event, which is a big fundraiser, our food fest. And so that is another way where we will meet bi-weekly and then weekly and we always are looking for students to bring their talents to help plan these events. And then even for the game nights the game nights are open to anybody the community meal we will be inviting students. We would really love to have people at every step. And then if anyone is really interested in this work or passionate, like Serena, they can come talk to us and we are always looking for new student leaders to get involved and even if you can't attend every event, the student leaders help plan, implement and are really the backbone of the programming.
Speaker 1:Awesome, serena. What, for you, has been one of your favorite programs to be a part of with TEN.
Speaker 4:The garden for sure. So the garden has to tie along in a little bit with everything, because I also helped out with the picnic and that was at the garden. And the garden is and was for me a great way to get involved, because there's so many different things a student can do if they join Into 10. Like it doesn't matter what you're passionate about. There's so many different ways that if you involve yourself in 10, you can find a way where you're suited in and fit in to what you like and for your own personality. So I started growing crops at home during COVID and I continued on.
Speaker 4:And then, meeting Chelsea, I was interested in making a difference, had no idea there was a garden and she told me that there's a position open and would you be willing to do a garden? Was that something that interested you? And honestly it did, because I was doing it from COVID. It became a habit. So I think as a student, it doesn't matter what your major is, where you come from, if you want to be involved, especially with the club at Detroit Mercy and organization. I think 10 is great to be a part of because it's also something that's flexible for you as a student. We're all busy. We have busy lives so you can attend events, help plan events once a year or once a month, so I think it's very balanced out to where anyone can fit in in any type of aspect with 10.
Speaker 1:Awesome, so you mentioned it yourself that you didn't even know we had a garden. Can you share, because I don't know if our listeners all know where our garden is on campus?
Speaker 4:So at first it was kind of hard for me to navigate, but once you pull into the school from the gates it's your first right. If you drive through that parking lot you'll see it right in front of the parking lot. Yeah, over by the softball field too, by CHP, right, yeah, chp, yeah.
Speaker 2:Is it by the house, with the where the priests are?
Speaker 1:Yes, the Jezebel house and they also have a garden garden, but that's separate from the campus garden. Okay, but there are two gardens back there, back to back, so people should definitely go back there and I think there's some tables, some picnic tables, seating good place for lunch. Students could pick something if they want to take a snack. Yeah, amazing.
Speaker 2:How does ten's work fit into the larger mission of Detroit Mercy and why is it important?
Speaker 3:So another fun aspect of TEN is we really are kind of like boots on the ground, implementing the mission as completely a part of our work. The mission of the university includes aspects of service and giving back to the community. That is what TEN does. Also, thinking about us within that urban context is a big part of TEN, and I think it's an amazing way for students to see in action a lot of those Jesuit and Mercy values of using your talents to make the world better, connecting with other humans, fostering a better community. All of those things is what we do every day, and so I think it's a great introduction if someone isn't already doing a lot of those things on their own to the mission.
Speaker 1:Serena for you. What aspect of our mission and values here at Detroit, Mercy, do you think flow into your work and passion with TEN?
Speaker 4:So from Detroit Mercy. I think when I first noticed about Detroit Mercy was how we're so culturally diverse here and us working together with the community is a way to bring together all types of different cultures too. With what we're doing, with the deliveries and just conversating with people, as a student, I feel like 10 truly fits in with the mission overall, because we're helping, we're giving back, but we're also using, like Chelsea said, our talents. Everyone has a place where they could fit in to being a difference and to fulfilling the mission of Detroit Mercy. And by joining any group, but especially 10, because it's so like purely in the heart of Detroit, purely by our school and easy access for students, especially with Driving Wise and everything, 10 is a perfect organization to join with in order to fulfill the mission that every student here is intended to follow, as a student and also as their own person.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Thank you. I really appreciate both of you sharing just like a bit more about 10. I loved learning new terms like food apartheid and just hearing more about the programming that you do, because I'm starting my fourth year at Detroit Mercy and there's still so much I don't know, and so it's always so wonderful to get to learn more about the different programs, organizations, groups that are on our campus and are doing really amazing work. It makes recording this podcast really fun. I get to learn a lot and hopefully the listeners are learning too.
Speaker 1:I think what we were just talking about flows nicely into the two questions that we ask all of our guests to answer, which both pertain to mission and value, or our values here at the institution. So when you think of the values that you see on our campus and these don't have to be written values that are somehow written out in our higher mission orientation, but it could be, if you want to. It could just be a value that you see that you were just mentioning. What are some of your favorite parts of the mission or values of our institution? And then the second part is what motivates you to live those values and the mission out. Who would like to go first, chelsea, I will start us off.
Speaker 3:So my favorite part of the mission is the fact that we're in this urban context. And then the community, which I can't stop talking about, and what motivates me is because I love our community so much. I did not grow up in Detroit, I grew up in a suburb, but working in the city before this and now I just am like surprised in the most beautiful way, like anytime I go out into our community and meet fellow residents and on campus, like Serena was saying, with the diverse group we have here, it's just all of those connections are so much fun and fulfilling. What about you, serena was saying, with the diverse group we have here? It's just all of those connections are so much fun and fulfilling.
Speaker 1:What about you, serena? What is your favorite part of our mission and values?
Speaker 4:So my favorite part personally is to be able to help others because, as I mentioned quite a few times, I'm also receiving something. When I help others, whether that be working hard in the garden or in the deliveries anytime I feel like I'm helping others, I'm also truly gaining stuff in back to me which builds up my personality, builds up what I want to do in the future and how much more I want to help, because I'm receiving so much and I'm feeling so fulfilled and what motivates me to live out the mission here at the University of Detroit Mercy is seeing, like Chelsea said, the community members seeing how we also are impacting their life on such a huge scale. That isn't really shown and maybe not noticed, but to them it's truly noticed and heartfelt.
Speaker 1:Wonderful. It makes me want to get more connected with members of our community that I don't know very well. I've met a number of people in various programs or things I've been a part of, but the relationship piece I think is so important and so true to our identity as members of the Detroit Mercy community. So I think we're ready for one of my favorite parts of the podcast, which is our lightning round, and how we typically do this is basically Kateri and I are going to go back and forth asking each of you these questions, so we'll determine right now who wants to be brave and be the person who answers first.
Speaker 1:I'll jump on that hand grenade. Chelsea was pointed at it immediately. So Chelsea will go first and then Serena you'll go. So we'll just ask the first question, you'll both answer. Kateri will ask the second question and we'll just go back and forth. This is answer, whatever comes first to your mind. If you want to share a follow-up explanation, feel free. We got plenty of time and, yeah, we'd love to hear the questions and answers, so I'll get us started. Sweet or salty, salty sweet.
Speaker 2:What is your favorite color?
Speaker 1:green pink what is one food you could not live without? This is boring but vegetables, pasta pasta Mm-hmm Pasta pasta.
Speaker 3:Current favorite TV show, the Daily Show, the Chosen Beach, or mountains, mountains, definitely Beach. Who's your hero? Ruth Bader Ginsburg Love it.
Speaker 4:I've got to say my mom for this one.
Speaker 1:That's a better answer favorite place you've traveled to um or visited.
Speaker 3:yeah, you know, it doesn't have to be super far um, I will say I'm a big fan like the porcupine mountains uh up like northern michigan in the up I've got to say, lords, it's located in france and it's truly a beautiful place to go um, what is one veggie or fruit you would like to grow?
Speaker 1:oh, that's a good one, because I love both of those things um, or you could answer your favorite fruit and veggie you'd like to grow.
Speaker 3:Yes, um I would love to be able to grow my own avocados, because they're tasty and expensive and come from far away. I'll just go with that one.
Speaker 4:So I've wanted to do it this year, but hopefully next year. Asparagus it seems really cool. It kind of just grows straight out of the ground. Yeah, it does. And fruits, my wonder. Maybe like a coconut.
Speaker 2:That would be cool.
Speaker 1:Before the next question what is your favorite thing? You have grown in the 10 Garden.
Speaker 4:There's so many like you can't make me pick.
Speaker 1:Name one good one.
Speaker 3:I'm really enjoying the okra. It's in these tall stalks which I was not anticipating, and then they have one of the most beautiful flowers, because most fruits and vegetables come from the flower and their flowers are yellow, with like a dark kind of purpley in the middle.
Speaker 2:They're really pretty.
Speaker 3:That sounds gorgeous. Yeah, love that.
Speaker 4:I think I'm going to have to go with the okra too, because I collected some of those flowers, kind of took them home as if they were like bought from the store. But also we got purple basil this year, which I didn't know was a thing, and it's just like basil but it's purple, so it's really pretty delicious what famous person, dead or alive, would you love to have a conversation with?
Speaker 1:Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
Speaker 4:yeah, it's a good one gotta say I don't know who that is Chelsea, but you're gonna have to fill me in after this. I definitely will.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're gonna have to take it. A lot of education Very important person.
Speaker 4:I'm quite religious, so I would have to say Jesus or be like around the time that he lived.
Speaker 1:That'd be cool, that'd be cool.
Speaker 2:What's the best advice you ever received?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so this one's usually a longer question, not quite. So the lightning round we always end with what's the best advice you've ever received, and this can be a story, I'm sure.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I have to think about that one back in my brain. What?
Speaker 4:first came to my mind, because my mom's been saying it ever since I was a little kid was give everything your all. She would tell me, like give everything your all until you can't give any more. Because once you give everything your all, she would tell me like give everything your all until you can't give anymore. Because once you give everything your all, you've reached your goal. Um, and that's something I've kind of always followed, Like, with everything I do, I put my most effort into it and till I reached that goal.
Speaker 3:That's a good one, um. I think I'm going to also have to give a piece of advice my mother gave me, Um, and that's to remember that everyone is different, with their own special qualities and needs, and it's a good reminder to not treat everyone the same, because everyone is different and there's no right or wrong with these things, but to keep that in mind Awesome.
Speaker 1:Love both of those. Those are great ones, chelsea. Those are good pieces of advice but, to keep that in mind, awesome, love both of those. Those are good pieces of advice. So that wraps up our lightning round, but I do have two burning questions that are follow-ups from all the way at the beginning of the episode, which are from your intros. One uh, I'd love to hear from chelsea a little bit more about your backpacking adventures and just share a bit more about like if what, what is what is backpacking what? And just share a bit more about like what, what is what is backpacking? What does that involve?
Speaker 3:Um, and then Serena.
Speaker 1:I have one for you as well. Um so, backpacking is basically camping on steroids.
Speaker 3:Um, so great explanation already, yeah. So, um, instead of a lot of people who have done camping experience the drive-up version, where you got your car next to you and all your stuff backpacking is where all your stuff is on your back and you hike for as long as you want or can to a spot. So I love it, because any form of camping outside is great, but you actually get to feel separated from society and there's also that gratification of after hiking for eight to ten miles with all your stuff on your back. It's really hard work, but at the end it feels wonderful. And then, just for me, being in nature and having that connection is kind of how I live my spirituality.
Speaker 1:Amazing. And Serena, my follow-up question for you is you mentioned as your fun fact that there is a stuffed animal that you still sleep with. I have to know does this stuffed animal? Have a name and what type of stuffed animal is it?
Speaker 4:I didn't name him, but when growing up I had a little lamb, I used to call him little lamb. I still have that stuffed animal. I used to sleep with him every day and then, as I got older I kind of stopped. And then, kind of like a year and a half ago, I bought another new little lamb but, it's like the new modern version, so I'm still stuck with him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the update, the remodel, I love that that. I am a big stuffed animal person. I think I've been bothering my husband for a while that like that's the one thing in our dating experience that he didn't get me, and I'm like you know it's now we're married, so you at some point that has to come, maybe at Christmas I keep sending subtle hints of like I want a stuffed animal just make sure he listens to this podcast. I'll make him listen to this episode specifically.
Speaker 4:One day you'll wake up in the middle of the night when he gets you one and you'll say where'd he go? And you'll got to go find that stuffed animal. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:That's what happens with me, a hundred percent, and I've also never been backpacking, but I do like camping.
Speaker 2:Camping is fun or backpacking I've never been backpacking and I can't say I'm a huge camping fan. I get a lot of mosquito bites and they blow up.
Speaker 3:That's fair Fall, so fall is the best time to do any backpacking or camping. It's not too hot and then the bugs aren't there, so and then you have the gorgeous fall colors if you go someplace up north.
Speaker 2:I love the fall, so you should check that out. I'll have to try that out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely encourage all of the people listening to either go camping or at least get out and drive a little bit north, if you got access to a car, and see the pretty fall colors, see the fall foliage and the beauty that is our beautiful state of Michigan, amazing.
Speaker 1:Well, I just want to say thank you to both of you for coming on the podcast, for sitting through our crazy method of asking questions and giving you the questions ahead of time but then asking you several that aren't even on there. I really appreciated learning so much more about TEN and what you all do in TEN Titan, equity, nourish Network making sure I just say full name again so people associate both names and I hope to encourage all people who are listening, particularly our students, to get involved. You know, maybe it's just starting by going to one of the deliveries on every other Monday or Friday, or maybe it's, you know, going to a game night and getting to know some of our community members and just connecting with people and building relationships. So I hope to see students get involved, and it sounds like there's a community dinner November 8th, so you should all go to that as well.
Speaker 2:Are the deliveries at a specific time Mondays and Fridays.
Speaker 3:Yes, so on Fridays we start at 10 am and end just before noon.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:And then on Mondays we go from three to just before five.
Speaker 1:Great. So different times that work for different schedules, so now you have no excuse but to get involved Amazing. Thank you again so much for being here, chelsea and Serena. We really appreciate it, thank you.
Speaker 4:We're so happy to be here.
Speaker 1:I really enjoyed our conversation today with Chelsea and Serena and just getting to hear a bit more about TEN and what they do. There was still so much that I learned. I appreciated Chelsea educating me around using proper terminology. Not that food desert is a term, but it's not a term that provides the fullness of what we're talking about when we talk about food insecurity, particularly in our urban context in Detroit, and so to learn about food apartheid as another term that better serves the explanation of what is going on with food insecurity in the city I think is really cool. But it's also cool to just like learn about TEN.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is. It's cool to see what they do, how they do it, and then that the community came and reached out to us to kind of get that going. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, reach out to us to kind of get that going. Yeah, yeah. And I think one of the things I so appreciate about groups like 10 or other groups on our campus is the intentionality around building relationship, and so I think it's great that our food delivery program came out of an ask from our community of like we have this need and we need help with the resources to have this need met. But I also think it's really cool that, like, a lot of what they're doing is just like connecting, like to just have fun game nights and invite people to have garden parties in the summer and have meals shared over really great conversation. I think so much of what we have designed for our podcast is like we're sharing time over a cup of tea or we're sharing time together around the same table yeah and that's a really beautiful model, I think, of just like connecting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's pretty cool. We had a great time listening to Chelsea and Serena tell us a bit more about TEN again. I think I've said it more than once now, but I'd love to see people get involved in what 10 is doing and use those gifts and talents that Chelsea and Serena were talking about to better serve our community and one another, and that includes our community here on our campus, our community in the surrounding neighborhood and, obviously, our wider community in Detroit and the world in Detroit and the world.
Speaker 2:You've been listening to what's the Tea with Ministry. If you enjoyed listening to us today, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Also, be sure to follow us on social media at UDM underscore ministry or check us out at what's the Tea with Ministry podcast on the Detroit Mercy website.
Speaker 1:Thank you to our guests Chelsea Manning and Serena Youssef for being in conversation with us today. Thank you also to all those who made this podcast possible, especially the Communication Studies Department, our sound engineer, michael Jason, our music composer Dan Gregg, marketing and Communications and the whole Detroit Mercy community.
Speaker 2:We look forward to sharing more of the mission with you next time See you later.