Authentically Detroit
Authentically Detroit is the leading podcast in the city for candid conversations, exchanging progressive ideas, and centering resident perspectives on current events.
Hosted by Donna Givens Davidson and Orlando P. Bailey.
Produced by Sarah Johnson and Engineered by Griffin Hutchings.
Check us out on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @AuthenticallyDetroit!
Authentically Detroit
Live Podcast: Happy Hour in the Market with Faust Haus & In The Mix Detroit
This week, in collaboration with the Eastern Market, Donna and Orlando hosted a live podcast edition of Happy Hour in the Market. This special event brings together food business owners, farmers, and producers for fresh bites, and dj vibes. For the month of October they chose to highlight Faust Haus Roasting Company and In The Mix Detroit.
Founded in 2021, Faust Haus Roasting Company started as a family venture aiming to educate the public on coffee’s African roots, specifically from Ethiopia. Based in Detroit’s historic Eastern Market Faust Haus Roasting Co., is a coffee roasting company that specializes in high-quality coffees from across the African diaspora. They offer wholesale options for partners, allowing for both coffee service in cafes and individual retail sale of their 12oz bags. This black-owned company, founded by Derek English, is known for its artisanal approach and commitment to robust flavors and responsible growth. Alongside their product offerings, Faust Haus is dedicated to making a positive impact on communities and providing relief to those in need.
Imani Foster is Chief Operating Officer of In The Mix Detroit, a collective of Black farmers and gardeners making a huge sustainability impact in Detroit. Essentially, In the Mix helps farmers bring their fresh food to market; providing resources like gardening supplies, educational workshops and an inviting community that welcomes newcomers.
To stay up to date with Happy Hour in the Market and learn more, click here.
FOR HOT TAKES:
THOUSANDS MARCH IN DETROIT NO KINGS PROTEST REBUKING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
Up next, Authentically Detroit and the Easter Market present a live podcast edition of Happy Hour in the Market. This special event brings together food business owners, farmers, and producers for fresh bites and DJ vibes. But first up, this week's hot take from the Detroit Free Press, Thousands Marching Detroit, No Kings protests rebuking Trump administration. Keep it locked. Authentically Detroit starts after these messages. Interested in renting space for corporate events, meetings, conferences, social events, or resource fairs, the MASH Detroit Small Business Hub is a 6,000 square feet space available for members, residents, and businesses and organizations. To learn more about rental options at MASH Detroit, contact Nicole Perry at nperry at ecnetroit.org or 313-331-3485. Hey y'all, it's Orlando. We just want to let you know that the views and opinions expressed during this podcast episode are those of the co-hosts and guests and not their sponsoring institutions. Now, let's start the show. Welcome to another live episode of Authentically Detroit, broadcasting from Detroit's East Side at the Stadle Meyer inside of the East Side Community Network headquarters. I'm Orlando Bailey.
SPEAKER_01:And I'm Donna Givens Davidson.
SPEAKER_03:Thank you for listening in and supporting our efforts to build a platform of authentic voices for real people in the city of Detroit. We want you to like, rate, and subscribe to our podcasts on all platforms. We are back at the Stademeyer for another live podcast. This time, we're collaborating with the Eastern Market and happy hour in the market. Normally, this event would take place at Eastern Market, but since the Lions are playing tonight in just a couple of hours, we decided to move things here. Welcome back to Authentically Detroit. Donna Givens Davidson, we took a couple weeks off, or I think it was just a week. How are you, my friend? I'm good. Listen, you are looking real snazzy with the black, with the gold on the black, the lips. You know what I'm saying? You got up and said, Yeah, I'm ready to give it to him today.
SPEAKER_01:Oh no. I don't know. I was tired, so I'm glad I just had to do something fancy. He's like, yeah. You know, I I had a really, really busy weekend. Yeah. And you worked all weekend. I did work all weekend, and then I came home, and something inspired me last week. Um, I think I've mentioned it on the show before that I'm starting, I'm writing a novel. And um we were holding the class on Wednesdays. I have this class, um, the Black Detroit Democracy series, where we're going over a lot of history at this point in the city of Detroit. And last year, last week's session was leaving the plantation. And I was asking people for stories, and one of the people in the room started telling a story, and the story was Well, tell us about the premise of the title first.
SPEAKER_03:And then we get into the leaving the plantation.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so you know, Detroiters have been in Detroit since almost its founding. But Detroit became a city that was a majority black city.
SPEAKER_03:You said black Detroiters have been in Black City. Thank you. Yeah, okay, thank you.
SPEAKER_01:I I just have to make sure I'm making sense to everybody else. But um, but we've been in the city, you know, from its founding. But the Detroit became a majority black city, and you started seeing changes in around 1914. And the reason for that is not just the auto industry paying five dollars a day, but also World War I and um Henry Ford's growing suspicion of Bolsheviks and people who from Eastern Europe. And so he decided that it made more sense than to bring people over from Eastern Europe. Now, let's start. I'm gonna say this because get this out of the way. He was a terrible anti-Semite, he despised Jewish people and was friends with Hitler. But he thought that black people played a very useful role in building his empire in the city of Detroit because he felt like we could be loyal to him, hard workers, all of that stuff. And so he began recruiting people like many northern industrialists did. The difference is that Henry Ford was paying$5 a day and nobody else was. And so you have this leaving the plantation, leaving a place where people had no lights, rights. Beyond sharecrapping, which is an economic system of you know, no rights, there there were no right, there was no right to vote, no right to congregate, no right to um play checkers, no right to go to the library, no, no right to do so many things that people now take for granted. And so Detroit looked like the promised land. Um, people came here um almost as refugees from um, you know, um terrorism in the South Southern terrorism. And so when you look at that refugee population, um the stories are interesting because some people came here, and I was telling my family story. My great-great-grandmother Sarah came here um because my great uncle was fleeing a lynch mob, the KKK. And so they moved to Detroit for his safety. And I was describing that and asking people if they had any other interesting stories around they came north. And a woman said that her grandfather came here because he killed a man who was trying to rape his wife, a white man trying to rape his wife. And so they came here and resettled, and that's actually one of the stories in my book. And I was like, whoa, wait a minute, I have to get back to that. So, in addition to all of the work I've been doing this weekend and political organizing and just trying to support justice in our nation, I also got back to writing a novel. And so today I feel good, even though I look sleepy, and I guess. No, you look good. It's coming from the inside out. Um, I realize, and I don't want to, you know, monopolize, but I realize that writing is where I get my joy. And a lot of times, you know me, if you know me, I'm on Facebook writing posts and all that serious stuff, but fiction is actually imaginative, and so that creative process of imagining a different world is a different way of um expressing myself, and it brings me joy. So I'm almost done with my book. Stay tuned.
SPEAKER_03:All right. A joyful journey.
SPEAKER_01:How was your weekend? I I talked a lot, but how about you?
SPEAKER_03:Oh, my weekend was good. You know, I got the opportunity to pay my respects to an amazing human being in the person of uh Dr. Darcy White. Um, she I had to take a couple of law courses uh to finish my journalism degree. And she was my intro to legal professor and my first legal writing and research professor. And then when I had to take legal, advanced legal writing and research, I didn't have her. But she took more, she took an interest in me as a student, but uh the the classroom did not confine that interest. And this is a woman who has been a constant in my life, always encouraging me, always lifting me up. She was determined that I was gonna go to law school. So it was so funny because at the uh memorial, folks were getting up and saying she was always so generous. She encouraged everybody to follow their dreams and do what they really wanted to do. And I got up and said, I don't know who this woman y'all are talking about, because this woman was determined that I was gonna be a lawyer. She was not trying to let me be a journalist. And so, and I was I was on track. I was like, okay, I'm thinking I might enjoy pre-law and do a double major until the advanced legal writing and research class, that was the third class in the program, and I went back to her and said, Okay, after this, I'm done. I'm not doing this.
SPEAKER_01:But you know, that's so funny because how many people tried to turn me into an attorney? Right, right? And how many people still think I'm an attorney? By the way, there is no LM by my name, but yes, there's a JD, rather. There's no I'm not, but it's interesting how both of us got kind of steered and um actually followed a different path.
SPEAKER_03:But she she always kept in touch, she always invested, uh, she always supported, and uh, she took ill a few years ago, and she passed away, and her son flew in and delivered a memorial that she wished for. And I was just really, really glad to be in the room. And so I did that and I celebrated uh a good friend of mine's birthday. We've been friends uh since we were 14 years old in the halls of the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts. She turned 35, and so I went to celebrate her birthday. And that was my weekend. It was pretty chill. It was a pretty chill weekend. I was glad I had a weekend. And today, uh, outlier offices are closed, and so I got to hang out and uh ease into the day and take Coco to the groomer and you know be the fur dad that I am. I heard that you got some shoes. I got some shoes today. I went and did a little shopping, you know, walked around. All right, y'all. It's time for hot takes where we run down some of the week's top headlines in the city of Detroit. So for Hot Techs, thousands marching Detroit. No Kings protest rebuking Trump administration. This is by Darcy Moran and Natalie Davies. Armed with pithy signs and multiple frog suits, thousands of protesters stepped out Saturday, October 18th for the second iteration this year of the nationwide anti-President Donald Trump protest dubbed No Kings. I just want to go back and say I went to Ajara's show at DSA on Saturday night, um, and it was amazing. So shout out to Ajara. Uh protests ran throughout the day on October 18th in Michigan. In places as far as the Upper Peninsula, as well as in Grand Rapids and in Metro Detroit, anti-Trump protesters came out in strong numbers from Sterling Heights to Detroit, where thousands marched in the streets. Demonstrators have regularly lambasted the Trump administration for policies and tactics they say are increasingly authoritarian since the president's second administration began. A take that the likes of the Michigan Republican Party chair have slammed. Asked for a reaction to the national protest ahead of the time, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson replied, Who cares? USA Today reported. Roughly 300 people were already protesting by 11:30 a.m. on MAC and Cadju on the east side of Detroit at its border with Girls Point. In Dearborn, a crowd of about 500, including U.S. Representative Rashida Talib, protested at the Henry Ford Centennial Library around noon. Republican leaders and members of the Trump administration have painted the No Kings protest as dangerous, un-American, and political fodder for the Democratic Party amid the government shutdown. Protesters have slammed the notions and multiple attendees wore inflatable frog and animal costumes to point to the absurdity of the claims of danger. Nearly daily protests in Metro Detroit this year have been observed as being peaceful, though sometimes Trump supporters and protesters exchanged harsh words. However, the last No Kings rally in Detroit did see a short skirmish involving a motorcycle club and protesters. And on Saturday, October 18th, a largely peaceful protest closer to downtown also saw a short physical tussle. Thousands got it outside the newly refurbished Michigan Central Station for an afternoon protest, separate from the earlier one on the city's east side. After a series of passionate speeches touching on unity and concerns like the deaths in Gaza, immigration, making Detroit a sanctuary city, and frustrations with local politicians, the crowd marched to the Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building and back. A lot to say there, Donna Givis Davidson. What do you have?
SPEAKER_01:I'm glad that people showed up. I'm glad that people protested. I'm sorry, I did have my phone on Do Not Disturb, but apparently it doesn't know that.
SPEAKER_03:I just want to remind you that this is your show.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, it's on Do Not Disturb. Anyway, I'll turn the volume down. Um I I didn't attend, but I want to honor everybody who did. Um I was part of an organizing group earlier in the day where we talked about what political activism could be. And a lot of the people who we were working with from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. then left with t-shirts and went down to the um No King's March. It's important that we do something. And what we do is not always going to be perfect. People may not always understand. But what shocked me is how many people were on social media saying it was all symbolic. It's not. There are real people who are planning real activities and they're doing that. And you know, my cousins were at a No King's March in DC. There were people with sniper rifles on the roof of buildings where they were walking around, and we know that their federal troops are in DC. It takes courage to mark and protest in these times. Don't belittle it. But then I remember that when Martin Luther King was doing the Birmingham bus boycott, there were people in Birmingham saying it was a waste of time, black and white. There were pastors there saying go home. There's always a certain group of people who don't believe civil protest or civil action will work until it does. But I'm proud of the people who showed up. I'm glad that we saw people show up in all parts of our state. And I'm slightly hopeful that that means that will mean something um important in 2026. Even as the president is trying to gerrymander every state.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, there is a case that the Supreme Court is considering right now, Louisiana versus what's the uh plaintiff's um I don't remember.
SPEAKER_01:But you know, I mean I'm pretty sure it's gonna be settled law. I mean the Supreme Court seems to hand Trump everything he wants. Yeah. Um and from what I understand, during the arguments, they were asking questions that would indicate that they're going to rule um in favor. They're going to dismantle voter voting rights of you know black Americans. And um that doesn't mean we can't vote. It just means that some of the protections that stop our votes from counting are not going to be enforced.
SPEAKER_03:And I'm representative of our communities.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, and representative of our communities, if they well, you know, in some instances what they do is they put all of us in one district, and then we have one representative, and that one representative is up against a whole bunch of Republicans. So what they do is they marginalize our vote. They either crack it or they pack it. And either way, they're doing it with the intent of marginalizing our vote. My only hope is that there are people who they're counting on to vote with Trump who also need health care, who also need some of the basic services that are being cut. And those people will not vote according to what the you know, the game panel uh MAGA game plan because it's increasingly unpopular.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. You know, I think for the administration to, you know, dub the protests as un-American, I think protesting is the most American thing you can do, right? And you know, this this obsession with it being peaceful, I think for you know, just from my vantage point, protests are supposed to be confrontational, right? They're supposed to ruffle feathers. They're not supposed, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01:Well, they are, they are, but the most successful protests by disadvantaged minorities are people who are standing and demonstrating the kind of um, you know, humanity humanity that the other side is taking away. The most successful protest or the biggest protest that I can remember, the scariest one was January 6th. And those people are considered that's considered to be very American. But that's because you posted something, you share with us um something that Michael Harriet um dis differentiated between white nationalism, white supremacy, and racism. And in white nationalism, there is this thinking that the nation should be run by white people and we have to suppress and oppress people of color. And to Trump and his followers, that is what America, that is American. The idea that people who are not part of this white cis heterole male, you know, dominant group are actually exercising their rights feels like a violation of the rights of men who want to dominate all of us. So um I'm again proud of people for standing up. I'm proud of young people. Um, I think that we also have to be willing to celebrate when young people do something that we don't understand. For anybody who doesn't think good things are happening, I encourage you the next time there's a march, go down there and see for yourself. Um the revolution won't be televised, okay? And it's not gonna show up on Facebook either. You're not gonna be able to look at your social media and really understand what's happening on the ground level. Last thing I want to say about this is we have a mayoral candidate in New York City, Mandami. Nobody knew who he was until he won the primary. But when he won that primary, the fact that he won that primary against the political establishment meant there was ground organizing in the streets behind the scenes that people didn't even know. And that's what happens is you have bit power being built in the confines of people's homes and their basements and churches and the community centers like this. And by the time the world finds out, you know, we're we're strong. So heads off.
SPEAKER_03:If you have hot takes that you want discussed on authentically detroit, you can hit us up on our socials on Facebook, Instagram, and X, or you can email us at authenticetroit at gmail.com. We're gonna take a quick break. We'll be right back. Have you ever dreamed of being on the airwaves? Well, the authentically Detroit Podcast Network is here to make those dreams come true. Formerly known as the Deep Network and located inside the Sodemeyer, the Authentically Detroit Podcast Network offers studio space and production staff to help get your idea off of the ground. Just visit authenticallyd.com and send a request through the contact page. Imani Foster is the chief operating officer of In the Mix Detroit, a collective of black farmers and gardeners making a huge sustainability impact in Detroit. Essentially, In the Mix helps farmers bring their fresh food to market, providing resources like gardening supplies, educational workshops, and an inviting community that welcomes newcomers. Founded in 2021, Fosthouse Roasting Company started as a family venture aiming to educate the public on coffee's African roots, specifically from Ethiopia. Based in Detroit's historic Easter market, Fosthouse Roasting Co. is a coffee roasting company that specializes in high-quality coffees from across the African diaspora. They offer wholesale options for partners, allowing for both coffee service and cafes and individual retail sale of their 12-ounce bags. This black-owned company, founded by Derek English, is known for its artisanal approach and commitment to robust flavors and responsible growth. Alongside their product offerings, Fost House is dedicated to making a positive impact on communities and providing relief to those in need. Everybody, please help me welcome Imani and Derek to Authentically Detroit. Woo! Welcome to the pod. Miss Imani, you're an old pro. So welcome back. Hi, how are you? We are amazing. How are you feeling?
SPEAKER_01:I'm feeling real good.
SPEAKER_03:You look good.
SPEAKER_01:I missed you the first time. So I'm glad I caught you this time.
SPEAKER_02:Derek, welcome to authentically Detroit. What's happening, man? What's going on? This is good. Yeah, you feeling alright? I'm always feeling good, man. I'm I'm usually high on coffee, so I'm always up for everything. I know the feeling.
SPEAKER_03:So tell us something about you that your bio didn't read.
SPEAKER_02:Uh man. Uh I'm from the west side of the city. Y'all might hear it in my accent. Uh that's that.
SPEAKER_03:West side accent. From the south somewhere.
SPEAKER_02:That's the west side of Detroit, man. That's uh that's that's Finkel and Grand River. That's all that is. Uh I'm I'm from uh, like I said, I'm from the west side of the city. Uh I'm a proud Retford High School graduate, even though uh Redford don't exist no more. Uh it's a mire now. So uh yeah, uh I I've spent a lot of time doing uh relief work throughout the African diaspora. Uh so I've spent time in Ethiopia, in Kenya, in Haiti, in uh the Bahamas, in Jamaica, in Antigua. Uh I've been a lot of places that we are. Yeah. So uh that's that's maybe that's not my bio. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Well listen, the African diaspora is music to my ears. All of this talk about American descendants of slavery and these people coming over and taking our rights is so chilling to me. Um and the diaspora wars that are going on where everybody's trying to figure out who's the best, we are all we are one. Oh, yeah. And so um your work is really magnificent. And of course, I'm really excited about tasting your coffee because I love coffee.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, as do I, you know, and and uh coffee originates in Ethiopia, and it's an African drink. And when we recognize that authority and that power in an industry that doesn't usually reflect us, it's an important and powerful thing.
SPEAKER_03:When did you learn that coffee originated in Ethiopia? Because I I learned that in this conversation.
SPEAKER_02:I did not know exactly. So when I And how was that take me to that moment where you're like, wait, what? 25 years ago, uh I was in Ethiopia doing some work, some relief work, uh, and some cross uh how do I say it? Uh cross-diaspora educational work, uh connecting and linking. Cross-diasporic. Yeah, yeah. We can make up some words. Um but uh when I was there, uh I was introduced to uh coffee and its origins and its history uh and its legacy because its features are such a prominent part of Ethiopian culture. Uh one of the things that you find uh around coffee, especially when you come to East Africa or Africa in general, uh, where coffee originates, coffee is the connector. So coffee is a community activity. In fact, we they don't call it making coffee, they call it coffee ceremony. So it's a it's a it's a it's a very uh ceremonial thing, it's a very community-driven thing. You know, we think about uh some people in our community or some people in the United States, a lot of people around the United States, they gather over alcohol, right? We we figure alcohol is a social drink, it's a social connection. Uh but at our origin point in in East Africa, coffee is that that social connection, that that connecting point. So when people uh are over and they they're having people over or whatever, it might be 11 o'clock at night. And then we start a coffee ceremony. We'll be up all night, but it's a good time. And now I see some people in the audience, they they understand, they feel that uh because we have that connection. We have that connection.
SPEAKER_03:And I can drink coffee at 11 o'clock at night and go to sleep. Listen, you want to know blessing. I can, I for real. What's so uh interesting about what you're saying, it really resonates with me deeply because for me, the process of making coffee feels like ritual and ceremony. It is just it does something for me. Like I love making it.
SPEAKER_01:Can I can I I have this coffee story?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, go for it.
SPEAKER_01:So um the first time I spent the night at Kevin's house.
SPEAKER_03:Uh-huh. That's her boo, y'all. That's her husband.
SPEAKER_01:That's um the first time, I don't like other people's coffee because I like for it to be heavy, rich and strong, and a lot of people make it too weak for me. And he made me a cup of coffee and it was perfect. I was like, wow. And so I knew then. I was like, man, listen, we have the same coffee taste, and every morning, every single morning, unless he can't physically get up out of bed, he goes downstairs and he goes through this ritual of making us coffee in the morning, and it's always delicious. When we go out of town, sometimes he'll take the coffee maker with us if you're driving, so he can, because it's a you know, espresso machine, and it's a detailed process. I said, Don't you want to get something easier? And he said, No, I love the process of making coffee. So that that I guess that's that's rush, I guess it's ancestral. I have to tell you, absolutely.
SPEAKER_03:I didn't even realize it. I'm gonna tell everybody I know that coffee originated in Ethiopia. It is an important thing. I am serious, that's an amazing fact. Wow. I love when I learn something new. Stay curious, everybody. Missy Monty, welcome back. Hey Mo, how are you doing? I'm good. Listen, so last time you were here, we talked a little bit about uh the flash freezing process. But just once again, give folks um an overview of In the Mix and take us through like what the flash freezing process looks like. Because today we had the opportunity to try uh some greens with a gumbo roux made by Chef Edric Godey, who is the organizer of Happy Hour in the Market. And let me tell you something. You couldn't tell me they weren't fresh from the garden at all, Imani. You couldn't tell me that.
SPEAKER_00:These were not glory greens. These were not glory. No, no, these are Miss Jerry's greens from Oakland Avenue around. Mama Jerry. Oh, Mama Jerry. I got you know, I always have to give her a shout out because she's she and Oakland Ave have just been great supporters of the work that I'm doing with uh In the Mix Detroit.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, she is a great human being. Oh gosh, yes. Um there's some people you're around, you just always want to be around them because of the spirit that they that's her spirit. It's always been one that's contagious. But I'm really excited about In the Mix and what you're doing. Um, and I didn't know about you until you came on the podcast. Can you give a little bit better? I mean, Orlando did a great job explaining it, but can you explain a little bit more for people who didn't listen to you the first time what you do and why you do it?
SPEAKER_03:And say the stuff you wanted to say the first time and you didn't get the chance to.
SPEAKER_00:Well, we had to work into that. That was something else. But the uh in the mix is the first of its kind, Flash Frozen Vegetable Product Line that is sourced from all black urban farmers, Detroit, Ham Tramic, Holland Park, and Ann Arbor. No herbicides, no pesticides, no sprays of any kind. I provide the organic seed to the farmers, and they grow it, bring it to Michigan farm to freezer, fresh, where everything is washed, chopped, and flash frozen. As I said, my my catchphrase, this is not our grandma's bird's eye anymore. What happens is the the process is once it comes into Michigan farm to freezer, it goes it gets washed or chopped. And flash freezing for some people, you can also use uh blanch as another term for flash freezing. So it is it is once it's washed, the water is basically just drawn out of the bag or out however they do it in bins and different kinds of ways, but it is just drawn out and goes directly into the freezers.
SPEAKER_01:Oh wow.
SPEAKER_00:So there is no um there the nutrients, the vitamins, everything is still intact and rich. And I'm glad that Chef E, thank you so much. You did a wonderful job. You lied to me.
SPEAKER_01:I just want to say, you know, I was talking to her earlier this week or last week. Last week. And you know, I've never considered myself a foodie. It's I like to eat, but I'm not a foodie. And uh until recently, I you know, used to just dread the kitchen, right? But Chef E has done such a great job of connecting us to food culture. And I think what you're doing in connecting us to um food that's freshly grown is so important because we don't have we have our winter season and our you know growing season is seasonal. And so how do I have greens in December that are fresh?
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:How do I have greens in January and also make sure that I'm eating food that is produced nearby? And I think at a time like this, when we know that we're gonna have cuts, already have cuts at the federal level, and the intent is to let people starve, we don't have to because we can take care of ourselves and hopefully we can draw on organizations like In the Mix and other local black farmers to take care of us and we will take care of them.
SPEAKER_00:But so I'm really excited about your and and the creating additional revenue streams for black people is so important to me. Um I have watched years of us just uh you know, we took a route away because we always had gardens. And as as life changed and things changed and people had jobs and and the blue collar and all the things, we decided it was more difficult to actually have someone uh prepare a meal and and grow the food and all of that because it was easier to go to to Farmer Jack or someplace else. However, once that happened, we we lost a lot of community. And we lost a lot of our nutrients and and things that really and truly fortify us.
SPEAKER_01:You know, I feel like I grew up in an era where people did not understand nutrition at all. Yeah. Okay, no understanding, going to McDonald's. All the time and thinking this is food and going all of these places. I think until I saw what they made, you know, McDonald's hamburgers with, I didn't understand the extent to which this food had been altered. When I grew up, um, my mother grew tomatoes and cucumbers and strawberries. We had food. And most people, you know, some of us had um, I think we had grapes on a fence and we used to eat them, and mulberries are my favorite fruits to eat. I mean, I just love picking mulberries off mulberry trees. Our community was filled with edible landscapes and also people cooking. And now it's almost it's not because my mother worked. My father worked, it's not because of jobs, it's just because of lifestyle and mindsets that I grow nothing that I eat when I'm trying to start now. But you just get out of the habit of growing what you eat, it's no longer cool anymore. And now we're going to have to reteach those skills. But I have a question to ask you how did you learn how to fresh flash freeze freeze food?
SPEAKER_00:I learned because that's really something. So I don't do the flash freezing, I don't do the processing, uh, I don't do any of that. And actually, I had a I have a um what do we call and some allies, Brandon Sang and Mark Cole. So they have a Michigan Farm to Freezer. They own uh Brandon Sang owned Michigan Farm to Freezer. And when during COVID, I needed some additional work. Um my hours were cut. Fortunately, I was still able to work with uh outdoors with uh Keep Growing Detroit. So that was that was exciting, and it also gave me an opportunity to make some monies. However, as my hours cut, I needed to make some additional money. So I met Brandon and started working with him on Fridays, and then he's he's involved in food and food business. And so he said, Well, Imani, what do you want to do, you know, with yourself? And and you know, what are your plans for the future? And hell, I didn't know. It was COVID. It was COVID. I didn't know what I was gonna do. So, but then um he started talking about what he did, and then I as I started doing some of the paperwork, I recognized like, what is this and what is that? And so that's when he said, Well, we flash freeze. And um he said, Have you ever given that any thought? Well, of course not. No, I have once again, it's COVID. I had to know nothing about anything or which direction I was going in. But after having, I worked with the growers for uh grown in Detroit for over 13 years. So I was the boots on the ground. I knew what the farmers could do, I knew their growing practices and habits, and so I was able to utilize their skill set to bring about good products. And so that's why we have the greens and the muropoix and stir fry and all of the things. But here's here's when I had to pivot on my business plan because we can grow everything during this season. So everybody has their garden, so they can grow the gar collards and and the carrots and the broccoli and all of that. And that's when I had to just sort of revamp and regroup. Um, otherwise, the business would not have been successful or as successful as it is. And that's how I started sourcing fruit from Michigan Farm to Freezer. And Mark Cole is the person who actually runs that now. I'm really gotta be nimble.
SPEAKER_03:Gotta stay nimble, right? And flexible.
SPEAKER_00:And and what's exciting is that folks are loving the fruit because there's some really good smoothie blends, and also when they're there, they also will grab a bag of collards or they'll get a stir-fry. And so that has helped bring the business. Where is this located? At Eastern Market. I'm at East. Thank you, Chef E. I have to thank Chef E because oftentimes I forget to mention where you can find me. But I am in shed five every Saturday, right along right down the road from Derek. From Pa's House. You're right next to each other. Right next to each other. We're we're neighbors. And so I'm in shed five every Saturday from uh 8 to 2 30. And then in the wintertime, I'll also be there. So I'm always in shed five, but they they move us around. You know, they have to reconfigure the space in the wintertime.
SPEAKER_01:Well, that's awesome. Um I had a question about the the difference between, I think I understand now, in the mix and keep growing Detroit. Keep because you help people who are also learning how to farm, or are you really helping them figure out how to fly trees their their food?
SPEAKER_00:So my my for-profit business, which Keep Growing Detroit and others are nonprofit, right? And they actually do all the heavy lifting when it comes to that. I just had the experience of working as the as the Grown in Detroit market coordinator for all those years. Um, however, so many people have recognized me and they know me from Keep Growing Detroit and Grown in Detroit that they always come and ask. Or people are just come and they're talking about, you know, I I want to grow my own or I want to start my own garden. Well, of course, I'm going to send them directly to Keep Growing Detroit in the Garden Resource Program because that is that is an awesome program. Um it working with other folk who want to learn is so important, and they make it available to people through their nonprofit organization. So you're a for-profit. I am a for-pro-profit.
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Yeah, and I'm excited.
SPEAKER_01:And I'm excited about the growth of for-profit businesses. Everything doesn't have to be nonprofit, right? And so good job.
SPEAKER_02:There's another key aspect to that, that a lot of nonprofits, especially when it comes to like relief work, um, they struggle because they have to raise funds constantly in order to survive. So Tell me about it. One of the things about our for-profit business is that my your False House Roasting Company is dedicated to taking a portion of our for-profit, our profits, and purposely setting those aside for nonprofit relief organizations within the diaspora. So we support organizations like Wal Jelada in Southern Ethiopia, uh, where we've been instrumental in helping to build a school. And uh, Lord willing, uh, as soon as the rainy season is finished, we're gonna be putting in a playground. Uh, and that comes from being a for-profit business. So I I've done the nonprofit work and I know the struggles of constantly trying to raise funds, and all too often in our communities, we go to our communities which are already in need and ask them to help somebody else that's also in need, and that's all good. But when we when we take a for-profit business and we say we are here to uh take a portion of those profits that come from all of the community, Metro Detroit or beyond Metro Detroit, and we we take those resources so that we're not necessarily draining those same resources that are also in need within our communities in order to help those communities outside. You know, we're gonna be able to do that.
SPEAKER_00:Could I just piggyback on that a little bit? Because it was it is imperative and vital that our farmers and growers get paid. Right. It really is. And so I am of the mindset when I said about creating an additional revenue stream, I am of the mindset that the farmers who participate and bring their produce will get paid. Absolutely. Retail, not wholesale.
SPEAKER_01:I hear you.
SPEAKER_00:I'm not fooling with wholesale. There's nothing wrong with it. It it it serves, everything serves a purpose. Absolutely. But my purpose is to make sure that I try to be as equitable to the farmers and to all the hard work that they do. They put in a lot and it's hard. So if I I I use this example and and I'll I'll use it again, that uh if Miss Jerry brings me 600 pounds of collard greens and you pay$3 a pound at Eastern Market at the at the market, I pay Miss Jerry in Oakland Avenue$3 a pound. So we're not I'm not pushing them off. I just thank you so much. I respect and love the farmers and the work that they have done and continue to do because as you said, systems are going to fall. And we need to get in, and we really and truly need to get on it. Um, and so anybody, I will tell you right off the top, please, if it's just a tomato plant or a head of lettuce, start growing your food because you can decide what goes into your body. You don't have to have the sprays, you don't have to have the all the all the things that are harmful to our bodies.
SPEAKER_03:All right, one more time. We got to wrap it up. So tell people one more time where they can find you. Derek, where can the people find you?
SPEAKER_02:Uh they can find us uh in Shed Five and Easter Market uh on every Saturday throughout the year. Uh coming up our holiday market will be on Sundays uh as well from 10 to 4. Uh they can also find us in Meyer Rivertown on Jefferson and Remark. Oh, three times. As well as Meyer Woodward Corner O on 13 and Woodward. And uh prayerfully, a lot more stores coming up for it. Absolutely. Awesome. Absolutely. Mr. Monty, where can the people find you?
SPEAKER_00:You can find me also in Shed Five every Saturday from eight to two. I I don't do the other markets because Missy Monty does all this by herself. All right. So, but I am also have a wonderful relationship with Argus Markets in Ann Arbor. And they were very, they're so open to supporting the farmers from Detroit and all around. So I'm in Ann Arbor. You can find me there because I send them produce. So you can find my food and find the frozen bread.
SPEAKER_03:Right up 94. All right, y'all. Thank you so much for coming on. If you have topics that you want to discuss on Authentically Detroit, you can hit us up on our socials at Authentically Detroit on Facebook, Instagram, and X, or you can email us at authentically Detroit at gmail.com. All right, Donna, it's time for shout-outs. You got any shout outs? I do.
SPEAKER_01:I want to shout out some of my colleagues, um, Brandon Snyder, Daniel Atkinson, Molly Sweeney, and um many others for doing the work of planning to make us powerful in our communities. Thank you for leading the way. They inspire me and give me hope.
SPEAKER_03:Derek, you have anybody you want to shout out?
SPEAKER_02:Of course. I got uh three little girls, Alyssa, uh Sophia London, and my granddaughter, Leah.
SPEAKER_03:He said granddaughter.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So I I'm gonna shout out, I want to shout out the kids. I, you know, I love my babies, love my girls.
SPEAKER_03:That's crazy. He is a granddad. All right, Missy Mani.
SPEAKER_00:And I'm gonna shout out my my grandson, Jai Prevan Willis. He just graduated from Lincoln Park High School, uh, I'm sorry, Evergreen Park High School in Chicago. And he is attending, this is freshman year, at Illinois State University, and he is following in my footsteps in that he is studying soil science.
SPEAKER_03:Come through. So, yeah, I'm really excited.
SPEAKER_00:So proud of him.
SPEAKER_03:That's amazing. I want to shout out Detroit. Uh, Detroit, y'all are showing now, uh, grabbing those tickets, uh, those Urban Consulate tickets to see uh Nicole Hannah Jones this upcoming Wednesday. I'll be going one-on-one with Nicole at the Garden Theater. So if you have not gotten your tickets, they're free. Um, it's free to come. Go to UrbanConsulate.com uh to come this upcoming Wednesday for an interview, an evening with the Nicole Hannah Jones of the New York Times in the 1619 project. I am so excited to talk to her.
SPEAKER_00:Could I also let people know that I I brought um uh miropoix, so your onion, celery, and bell pepper chop. There, I have 12 bags, and so you guys can walk away. We got 11 bags because one of them I'm gonna be. I have 11 bags of miropoix, and so I'm trying I'm gonna gift that to everybody. So try it out, and I I hope that will encourage you to come on back down to uh Chad Five to see me and Derek.
SPEAKER_03:All right. We thank y'all so much for coming on, and thanks everybody for listening. And until next time, remember to love on your neighbor. We'll see you.
unknown:All right. All right.
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