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Red Hen Food and Goods, Nisula
In tiny Nisula, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Alison Kirksey and her neighbors were driving 45 minutes for basic groceries and supplies. With a successful food blog and a passion for cooking for others, Alison combined her loves and opened Red Hen Foods & Goods, a community gathering place that also has groceries, gifts, prepared food, and animal feed.
RJ’s Printing, Kalamazoo
Sean Hollins knows all too well the challenges of being a Black business owner – the search for funding, the wealth disparities, the lack of access to materials at a fair market rate. “Some of those challenges are still in front of me, but funding was the biggest,” he said.
Tastefull Vegan, Wyoming
Kalene McElveen grew up on the east side of Detroit in a food desert. “Our closest grocery store was a liquor store,” she says. There wasn’t access to fruits and vegetables – and her family eats a plant-based diet. Needless to say, she learned how to cook at a very young age, being inspired by her grandmothers, her mom and multiple YouTube videos.
