By Kathy Chouteau
The Richmond Recreation Complex is set to become ground central for “Ms. Faye’s Free Farmers Market” Saturday, Feb. 21 from 9 a.m. to noon, where The Black Neighborhood (TBN) is giving away groceries to anyone who needs them.
Amid rising food costs, the Free Farmers Market is offering essential items such as bread, produce, beans, rice, canned goods, onions, potatoes and nourishment of that nature. Depending on if the weather cooperates, community members will either shop for their groceries if it’s not raining, or pick up a prepared bag if it is. The current weather forecast for Saturday is cloudy with a high of 57 degrees.
“With the way times are with groceries and food, it fluctuates from month-to-month what we can give them, but we try to give them all the essentials,” said TBN’s VP Uzo Nwadugbo.
The Richmond-based nonprofit named its Free Farmers Market after the late Ms. Faye Gabriel from Feed My Sheep Food Pantry in Oakland, who taught them the ropes about distributing free food to those in need, according to Nwadugbo.
Today, the Richmond nonprofit distributes food at rotating Bay Area locations on a monthly basis—and Thanksgiving—in cities such as Richmond, Oakland, Antioch and beyond. And it’s been doing so for approximately a decade, since the nonprofit’s inception. The organization also has cohorts in Los Angeles and New York.
After a decade of service, Nwadugbo and TBN believe that food insecurity, at its root, causes many problems affecting the community—ranging from domestic violence, to gun violence, to mental health issues and other problems. “We found out at the base, something like food insecurity triggers all these things,” he said, adding that TBN just wants to help provide a family with a meal so they don’t have to worry about what they’re going to eat.
“I think giving people that opportunity, that resource…can create a big change in the community,” Nwadugbo added.
TBN is an organization dedicated to empowering our community through direct service, education and advocacy. Nwadugbo said the nonprofit focuses on addressing challenges our neighborhoods face such as food insecurity, economic opportunity, youth mentorship, community safety and more.
“Our thing is, when we get to places, we want to make sure they’re better [off] when we left them,” said Nwadugbo.
Find “Ms. Faye’s Free Farmers Market” Saturday at the Richmond Recreation Complex, 3230 Macdonald Ave. in Richmond.
Questions? Contact The Black Neighborhood at (510) 214-2483 or [email protected].
