1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:02,200 I'm from Detroit. 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,896 (Applause) 3 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:11,920 A city that in the 1950s was the world's industrial giant, 4 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:15,496 with a population of 1.8 million people 5 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:20,096 and 140 square miles of land and infrastructure, 6 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:23,840 used to support this booming, Midwestern urban center. 7 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:27,136 And now today, 8 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:28,880 just a half a century later, 9 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:33,280 Detroit is the poster child for urban decay. 10 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:38,336 Currently in Detroit, our population is under 700,000, 11 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,816 of which 84 percent are African American, 12 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:45,120 and due to decades of disinvestment 13 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,056 and capital flight 14 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:50,880 from the city into the suburbs, 15 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,080 there is a scarcity in Detroit. 16 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,616 There is a scarcity of retail, 17 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:02,936 more specifically, fresh food retail, 18 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,576 resulting in a city where 70 percent of Detroiters 19 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:08,240 are obese and overweight, 20 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:10,440 and they struggle. 21 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,400 They struggle to access nutritious food that they need, 22 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:18,856 that they need to stay healthy, 23 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:23,776 that they need to prevent premature illness and diet-related diseases. 24 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:29,496 Far too many Detroiters live closer to a fast food restaurant 25 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,816 or to a convenience store, or to a gas station 26 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:34,896 where they have to shop for food 27 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,200 than they do a full-service supermarket. 28 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,680 And this is not good news about the city of Detroit, 29 00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:48,176 but this is the news 30 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:49,576 and the story 31 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,576 that Detroiters intend to change. 32 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:54,250 No, I'm going to take that back. 33 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:59,336 This is the story that Detroiters are changing, 34 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:03,120 through urban agriculture and food entrepreneurship. 35 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:05,496 Here's the thing: 36 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:07,896 because of Detroit's recent history, 37 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:09,976 it now finds itself 38 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,920 with some very unique assets, 39 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:15,680 open land being one of them. 40 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:21,656 Experts say that the entire cities of Boston, San Francisco, 41 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:23,216 and the borough of Manhattan 42 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,520 will fit in the land area of the city of Detroit. 43 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:28,576 They further go on to say 44 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:32,280 that 40 square miles of the city is vacant. 45 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,896 That's a quarter to a third of the city, 46 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:37,696 and with that level of emptiness, 47 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:42,280 it creates a landscape unlike any other big city. 48 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:48,016 So Detroit has this -- open land, fertile soil, 49 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,056 proximity to water, 50 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:51,856 willing labor 51 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,480 and a desperate demand for healthy, fresh food. 52 00:02:55,480 --> 00:03:00,016 All of this has created a people-powered grassroots movement 53 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:01,576 of people in Detroit 54 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:03,736 who are transforming this city 55 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,800 from what was the capital of American industry 56 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:09,520 into an agrarian paradise. 57 00:03:10,306 --> 00:03:11,456 (Applause) 58 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:15,536 You know, I think, out of all the cities in the world, 59 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:21,336 Detroit, Michigan, is best positioned to serve as the world's urban exemplar 60 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,896 of food security and sustainable development. 61 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:29,936 In Detroit, we have over 1,500, yes, 1,500 62 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:34,616 gardens and farms located all across the city today. 63 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:36,176 And these aren't plots of land 64 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,000 where we're just growing tomatoes and carrots either. 65 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:44,136 You understand, urban agriculture in Detroit is all about community, 66 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:46,016 because we grow together. 67 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:49,416 So these spaces are spaces of conviviality. 68 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:53,416 These spaces are places where we're building social cohesion 69 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,816 as well as providing healthy, fresh food 70 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,176 to our friends, our families and our neighbors. 71 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:02,736 Come walk with me. 72 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,376 I want to take you through a few Detroit neighborhoods, 73 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:09,776 and I want you to see what it looks like when you empower local leadership, 74 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,736 and when you support grassroots movements 75 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:16,576 of folks who are moving the needle in low-income communities 76 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:18,136 and people of color. 77 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:21,216 Our first stop, Oakland Avenue Farms. 78 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:26,416 Oakland Avenue Farms is located in Detroit's North End neighborhood. 79 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:31,136 Oakland Avenue Farms is transforming into a five-acre landscape 80 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:35,256 combining art, architecture, sustainable ecologies 81 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:37,336 and new market practices. 82 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:39,096 In the truest sense of the word, 83 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:43,360 this is what agriculture looks like in the city of Detroit. 84 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:48,656 I've had the opportunity to work with Oakland Avenue Farms 85 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:52,840 in hosting Detroit-grown and made farm-to-table dinners. 86 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:56,496 These are dinners where we bring folks onto the farm, 87 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:58,976 we give them plenty of time and opportunity 88 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,096 to meet and greet and talk to the grower, 89 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:04,296 and then they're taken on a farm tour. 90 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:10,096 And then afterwards, they're treated to a farm-to-table meal 91 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:12,056 prepared by a chef 92 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:17,880 who showcases all the produce on the farm right at the peak of its freshness. 93 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:19,536 We do that. 94 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:21,456 We bring people onto the farm, 95 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:23,696 we have folks sitting around a table, 96 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,056 because we want to change people's relationship to food. 97 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:31,336 We want them to know exactly where their food comes from 98 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:35,176 that is grown on that farm that's on the plate. 99 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:36,776 My second stop, 100 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,456 I'm going to take you on the west side of Detroit, 101 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:41,256 to the Brightmoor neighborhood. 102 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:44,000 Now, Brightmoor is a lower-income community in Detroit. 103 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,480 There's about 13,000 residents in Brightmoor. 104 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:53,256 They decided to take a block-by-block-by-block strategy. 105 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:55,776 So within the neighborhood of Brightmoor, 106 00:05:55,800 --> 00:06:00,680 you'll find a 21-block microneighborhood called Brightmoor Farmway. 107 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:06,416 Now, what was a notorious, unsafe, underserved community 108 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:11,176 has transformed into a welcoming, beautiful, safe farmway, 109 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,960 lush with parks and gardens and farms and greenhouses. 110 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:18,936 This tight-knit community also came together recently, 111 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,336 and they purchased an abandoned building, 112 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:25,816 an abandoned building that was in disrepair and in foreclosure. 113 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:29,016 And with the help of friends and families and volunteers, 114 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,776 they were able to take down the bulletproof glass, 115 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:33,656 they were able to clean up the grounds 116 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:37,496 and they transformed that building into a community kitchen, 117 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:40,296 into a cafe, into a storefront. 118 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:44,096 Now the farmers and the food artisans who live in Brightmoor, 119 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:47,216 they have a place where they can make and sell their product. 120 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:48,776 And the people in the community 121 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,840 have some place where they can buy healthy, fresh food. 122 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:55,336 Urban agriculture -- and this is my third example -- 123 00:06:55,360 --> 00:07:00,360 can be used as a way to lift up the business cooperative model. 124 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:04,976 The 1,500 farms and gardens I told you about earlier? 125 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,256 Keep Growing Detroit is a nonprofit organization 126 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:09,640 that had a lot to do with those farms. 127 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:15,776 They distributed last year 70,000 packets of seeds 128 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,336 and a quarter of a million transplants, 129 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:21,416 and as a result of that last year, 130 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:25,336 550,000 pounds of produce 131 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:28,616 was grown in the city of Detroit. 132 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:32,400 (Applause) 133 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:36,896 But aside from all of that, 134 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:40,496 they also manage and operate a cooperative. 135 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:42,416 It's called Grown in Detroit. 136 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,696 It consists of about 70 farmers, 137 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:47,216 small farmers. 138 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,280 They all grow, and they sell together. 139 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:53,576 They grow fruits, 140 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:54,800 they grow vegetables, 141 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:57,296 they grow flowers, 142 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:00,256 they grow herbs in healthy soil, 143 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,216 free of chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, 144 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:05,576 genetically modified products -- 145 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,120 healthy food. 146 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:09,536 And when their product is sold 147 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:12,416 all over the city of Detroit in local markets, 148 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:15,120 they get a hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale. 149 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:18,480 In a city like Detroit, 150 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:24,776 where far too many, far too many African Americans are dying 151 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,480 as a result of diet-related diseases, 152 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,416 restaurants, they have a huge role to play 153 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,856 in increasing healthy food access in the city of Detroit, 154 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,296 culturally appropriate restaurants. 155 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:39,056 Enter Detroit Vegan Soul. 156 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:44,536 Yes, we have a vegan soul food restaurant in the city of Detroit. 157 00:08:44,560 --> 00:08:45,776 (Applause) 158 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:47,280 Yes, yes. 159 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:52,256 Detroit Vegan Soul is providing Detroiters the opportunity 160 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,696 to eat more plant-based meals 161 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:59,496 and they've received an overwhelming response from Detroiters. 162 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,056 Detroiters are hungry for culturally appropriate, 163 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:04,000 fresh, delicious food. 164 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:08,456 That's why we built a nonprofit organization called FoodLab Detroit, 165 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,576 to help small neighborhood burgeoning food entrepreneurs 166 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,480 start and scale healthy food businesses. 167 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:18,296 FoodLab provides these entrepreneurs incubation, 168 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:20,736 hands-on education, workshops, 169 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:24,136 technical assistance, access to industry experts 170 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:25,840 so that they can grow and scale. 171 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:28,056 They're very small businesses, 172 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,336 but last year, they had a combined revenue 173 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:33,896 of over 7.5 million dollars, 174 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:37,216 and they provided 252 jobs. 175 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:38,456 Listen. 176 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,256 (Applause) 177 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:44,400 These are just a few examples 178 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:49,216 on how you expand opportunities 179 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,696 so that everybody can participate 180 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:54,096 and prosper, 181 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:58,096 particularly those who come from neighborhoods 182 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:02,320 that have been historically excluded from these types of opportunities. 183 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:05,040 I know, I know. 184 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:09,240 My city is a long way from succeeding. 185 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:11,456 We're still struggling, 186 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,296 and I'm not going to stand here on this stage and tell you 187 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:17,736 that all of Detroit's problems and all of Detroit's challenges 188 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:20,696 are going to be solved through urban agriculture. 189 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:22,376 I'm not going to do that, 190 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:24,496 but I will tell you this: 191 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:27,896 urban agriculture has Detroit thinking about its city 192 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:29,496 now in a different way, 193 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:33,360 a city that can be both urban and rural. 194 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,656 And yes, I know, these stories are small, 195 00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:39,536 these stories are neighborhood-based stories, 196 00:10:39,560 --> 00:10:41,616 but these stories are powerful. 197 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:45,456 They're powerful because I'm showing you how we're creating a new society 198 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:51,256 left vacant in the places and the spaces that was disintegration from the old. 199 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,616 They're powerful stories because they're stories about love, 200 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:56,816 the love that Detroiters have for one another, 201 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:00,656 the love that we have for our community, the love that we have for Mother Earth, 202 00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:03,176 but more importantly, these stories are stories 203 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:08,216 on how devastation, despair, decay 204 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:13,096 never ever get the last word in the city of Detroit. 205 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:16,136 When hundreds of thousands of people left Detroit, 206 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:19,416 and they left us for dead, those who stayed had hope. 207 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,216 They held on to hope. 208 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:22,536 They never gave up. 209 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:25,176 They always kept fighting. 210 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:26,456 And listen, I know, 211 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:30,456 transforming a big city like Detroit to one that is prosperous, 212 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:32,936 one that's functional, one that's healthy, 213 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:36,096 one that's inclusive, one that provides opportunities for all, 214 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:37,656 I know it's tough, 215 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:40,056 I know it's challenging, I know it's hard. 216 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:41,320 But I just believe 217 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:45,656 that if we start strengthening the social fabric of our communities, 218 00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:50,736 and if we kickstart economic opportunities in our most vulnerable neighborhoods, 219 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:54,896 it all starts with healthy, accessible, 220 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:59,096 delicious, culturally appropriate food. 221 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:00,336 Thank you very much. 222 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:03,600 (Applause) 223 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:08,000 Thank you.