Joey Darwin: A grocery store in South Dallas that nourishes body and spirit while nurturing autonomy and dignity
This episode is the first in the new series “More than Food for Thought: Community-Based Solutions to Hunger in South Dallas.”
In it, George introduces us to Joey Darwin, Executive Director of Bridge Builders and the group’s South Dallas Community Market. Together, they explore what a grocery store would look like if the neighbors who shop there got to say what they needed and wanted.
In partnership with Brother Bill’s Helping Hand, that’s exactly what this market does; it offers nutritious food chosen by clients right in the community of South Dallas.
BridgeBuilders engages, equips, and empowers individuals, families, and communities in South Dallas. https://bridgebuilders.org/
Watch the video, here.
George (00:37):
Welcome to Good God. Conversations that matter about faith and Public Life. I'm your host, George Mason, and I am here in our first ever on location shoot for Good God. We're out of the studio. We're into the community and specifically the South Dallas community because Faith Commons, the organization that sponsors the Good God programming, has been working with a number of nonprofit partners to focus on the question of what would make for flourishing life in the five zip codes of South Dallas. It's an extraordinary thought that in the two miles from the 215 zip code in South Dallas t o the 204 zip code in Old East Dallas, the life expectancy of a male is 26 years less in South Dallas than just two miles away. How could demography be destiny in Dallas, Texas in the year 2023? So what would it take, what are some of the factors involved specifically? During this series of Good God conversations,, we're gonna talk about the accessibility or lack of it, of fresh produce, good healthy food that is affordable for residents of South Dallas because so many things revolve around a healthy life and good opportunities that would come from that. We'll talk about a lot of those other factors as well. But I'm here right now in the South Dallas community market. This store is open since February 15th of this year, 2023. And it is sponsored by Bridge Builders, an organization I'm gonna introduce you to in a moment. The food comes originally from the North Texas Food Bank and is brought here and organized and delivered by Brother Bill's, Helping Hand. Again notice all the nonprofit partners working together to make this neighborhood, which is called the Ideal Neighborhood, contiguous with the Bonton Neighborhood, a place where hope can spring forth, and so this is why we're here and this is what we're going to talk about. And to that end, I want to introduce you to the executive director of Bridge Builders. This is Joe Darwin. Joey, welcome to Good God.
George (03:16):
Thank You. Thank you for having me.
George (03:17):
Well, we're so glad to be inside the market right now. And this market is really important because even though there is a storefront right across the street here in Ideal called TC Grocery Incorporated, why isn't that good enough to provide the kind of, uh, food for the neighborhood that it needs?
Joey (03:42):
Yeah. So the business, like any other businesses in other neighborhoods are looking for sustainability. And so they sell what's being purchased . And so they're selling primarily, quick foods, snacks, high sodium, high sugar sodas, things like that. They've got a small market, that serves, pork chops, burgers, food cultural to the neighberhood. What they can't do is afford the shelf sustainability. Okay. Of items like fresh proteins, fresh produce just the cost of getting those in, the cost of having the shelf space for it and the affordability they can make off of it, you know, the profit margin on those items is really high. Um, and so we exist to supplement the food access for the neighborhood. We are not the answer to all food access, we don't have items that compete with the local markets. But we supplement those other items.
George (04:34):
Well, we're gonna take a walk around the store and let people see how this works in just a moment. But Joey, why shouldn't you just get all your partners together and go talk to Kroger or Tom Thumb or any of these grocery stores and just say, Hey, we need food down here. Why don't you just come bring a grocery store here that there is no grocery store like that in the entire South Dallas 5 zip codes with the one exception, as I understand, of a fiesta over by a Fair Park. So why not?
Joey (05:11):
Um, I would say it's how you define profit. Um, and so for those large retailers, uh, profit is a dollar. And so how much money can they make off of their items? We define profit differently, right. So the thriving of the individual is our profit. That's our return on relationship that we talk about. South Dallas, the average income for a households around $20,000 , our neighborhoods Bonton and Ideal are $15,000 and $19,000.
George (05:35):
Okay. Now let's remember what the actual poverty level is.
Joey (05:39):
27,000 ish dollars in Dallas
George (05:41):
For an idividual
Joey (05:42):
Yes, sir.
George (05:43):
And a family that goes up to over 40, right? Okay. So in other words, most people in this neighborhood are living at about less than 50% probably of the, the poverty level. It's extraordinary. Okay. So therefore, groceries generally would take up an extraordinary amount of their percentage of their income when you put housing on top of that.
Joey (06:12):
In credibly high percentage. And then for the stores themselves, uh, there is no way for them to sustain. Um, with government supplements, with subsidies, things like that. They could, but the model for, um, a big market retailer right, is to come into a space, exist, make profit turn over items, look at their shelf space, have those conversations. They don't have the capacity for the conversation of how do they make sure that our widowed residents who are in their eighties have access to groceries. Um, and so we would love a world where we could partner with commerce representing individuals. But at this point, we haven't found the capacity for that. And I think we're gonna have to find new models in the future. Um, again, this is not the answer to the question about food access. It's just an active response.
George (06:59):
So ultimately it comes down to poverty, really. Because, uh, you can, you can say that if we had all the food in the world right here and people couldn't purchase it then that would be a problem. But when they come here to this market, they don't have to purchase this food.
George (07:15):
Yep. Alright. So tell us how that works and, and and, and how it's going so far.
Joey (07:22):
Uh, so I'll tell about the origin first. Um, I love the origin of the market. Uh, we were given this building by the city of Dallas. Um, this space was vacant and we, uh, engage neighborhood intimately. Our ultimate authority in this space is not me as the executive director , I submit to the neighborhood. They are our boss. And so we asked the neighborhood, what do you want in this space? We thought about an entrepreneurial center, have a place to create jobs. And the neighborhood told us we want a laundromat or a grocery store. And those are the top two answers. And grocery store kept coming back as number one. uh, we are not experts in the grocery space. We're experts in the relationship space. So we went to Brother Bills, um, which you guys can see here. And they're grocery experts. So we offered the space, they came in. Um, and so because we submitted to the authority of the neighborhood and provided what they wanted, we are seeing this place thrive. Um, and so we opened February 15th. Um, our numbers as of May, are we've provided, um, in kind access to groceries of $300,000, a little bit more than that to the neighborhood. We have 421 individual households represented um, 500 or so individuals that come in through each month and shop. And so the neighborhood is responding because they said, we want this and we listened. And so that's been fantastic to see.
George (08:35):
So why is it so important to have healthy food? Because the consequences of not having it are terrible in terms of, uh, obesity rates, uh, diabetes, heart disease, things that are much higher in neighborhoods like this mm-hmm. than in most North Dallas neighborhoods because of that lack of access to food. But Joey, uh, there are people probably who would say, well, even if you put a grocery store here with fresh, healthy produce every day, uh, these are not people who are used to eating that way. It would go to waste. They wouldn't know how to prepare it. They all those sorts of things. What would be your response to that?
Joey (09:19):
Yeah. Uh, we hear responses like that consistently. Um, there is an assumed ignorance on behalf of people who are in communities who are under-resourced. Um, and I think that assumed ignorance comes from a position of safety for myself. Um, I feel safer if I can think poor things about a person versus poor things about a system. And so, uh, what we see is there is some generational access, you know? So, uh, maybe some of our teens, uh, haven't cooked certain ways, certain things. Um, I don't know how to cook escargo. Uh, I'm not ignorant because of that. I just don't have access to escargo. It's not in my community. If it was right, I might know it. Right. Um, and so when I talk about us being active response, um, the rest of that for me is we're an active response to a question that's already been answered. Uh, so how do we have food, uh, security in South Dallas? South Dallas has had grocery stores historically, um, a block from us. There was a resident who shops in our market now whose family owned a grocery store , but because of systemic issues and disfranchisement, the store was shut down. Um, and so sometimes when we ask these questions, when we, uh, look at why these things exist, we want to stop on the responsibility of the individual. Right. And not the responsibility of the community as a whole. And so part of the importance of this also is the physical health aspect, but the mental, spiritual, emotional health aspect. Okay. The dignity of shopping in your neighborhood. Yes. The dignity of choice in shopping ah, and not being given something for you Good. Is what we strive for in this space.
George (10:44):
Well, there are people who come to this neighborhood from North Dallas mm-hmm. and think that they are really investing in this very thing because just down the road here in the Bonton neighborhood is Bonton Farms mm-hmm. , which is a remarkable place, uh, that is doing, uh, a large community garden kind of of effort. And so I think another question people might have is why can't we just have more of those in every little community and then everyone would have access to that food. Mm-hmm. What's the reason why we are just up the street and we need South Dallas, Dallas community market?
Joey (11:21):
Yeah. Um, so a couple things. Uh, primarily we love Bonton Farms. They're a fantastic partner. Mm-hmm. , uh, Bonton Farms is focused on housing and employment. Okay. Um, and so they have done an incredible job, uh, making sure neighborhood residents have jobs. Right. Um, and access to housing. Um, their grocery store, their market are kind of a way to buy people into their concept of their work. Okay. Uh, it's not, uh, intentionally focused on responding to food access issues. Okay. Um, the other thing that we talk about at times with community gardens is I've never walked a block from my house to pick a vegetable. Yes. Um, I don't find that romantic. I don't have <laugh>, uh, this driving in myself for gardening. Right, right. And so to assume because there is an access issue Yes. That we would put on other individuals food access issues that we don't have. Mm-hmm. um, does other people. Okay. So even though it can feel affirming, can feel beautiful if the neighborhood isn't saying h elp us garden. Yes. But I'm telling the neighborhood how to garden Uhhuh, there's a disconnect in the reality of where that's gonna terminate.
George (12:22):
Okay. This goes back to your language earlier about the authority of the neighbors telling you what they need mm-hmm and what they want. Yes sir. And this is a place that they said that they needed and they wanted. And so I think it'd be great for us to walk around as if we were one of those neighbors Yeah. That were coming in here. And so show me how we do this. `.
George (12:44):
Alright, Joey, so here we are in the market itself. We have, uh, the shelves here and the food, and there are freezers we're gonna get, we're gonna walk around in just a moment. But to begin with, let's say I'm a neighbor and I've just walked in the door and I say to you, can I shop here? How do I go about that?
Joey (13:04):
Yeah. Welcome to the South House community market. What's your name?
George (13:07):
I'm George.
Joey (13:07):
Thank you George. Nice to meet you. So we want to greet everyone first. Okay. Uh, again, what we wanna reinforce here is dignity. Yeah. Um, and, uh, pride. Mm-hmm. And the autonomy of shopping independently. Mm-hmm. . And so from the beginning, we want everything to be experienced that way. Okay. Uh, so you'll notice it's named the South Dallas Community Market. Right. It's not Bridge Builders or Brother Bills market. Very good. It's about the neighborhood. Um, when you come in, you'll be greeted by one of our, uh, staff up front. If you are a brand new client for the first time, we'll check you into the system. All you need to be is a North Texas resident. Mm-hmm. and have an id. Okay. If you don't have an id, we'll still serve you. And we we'll do is pass you over to our social service specialist who will help you find a form of id. Nice. So we can make you, we can make sure you get a driver's license, a state id. Mm-hmm. And those other areas, we'll work with you to support you in that way. Okay. While you're meeting with Social services, they'll also ask you, is there anything else you need help with? Okay. Housing bills, financial training, coaching, transportation.
George (13:59):
Which, which actually, if we could just sort of put a parenthesis here. Yeah. Bridge Builders is involved in lots of different, uh, program work in the, in the community, including the things that you just mentioned. Yes, sir. A community center for youth as well. And so there's, there's lots of things you're doing on a holistic basis. Yes, sir. Not just this market, but this, this market, which is now about six, six months old or so, Yes, sir. Uh, is providing food. So, alright. So I'm ready to shop.
Joey (14:26):
Yes, sir. So, uh, when you come in, check in again. Um, if you're waiting, we'll have snacks. We have drinks available when it's your turn. Okay. You get up and you grab a grocery cart and you shop.
George (14:36):
Alright, well let's get going. Yes, sir. Okay.
Joey (14:40):
Like I said, you'll grab the cart. Uh, if our residents need assistance shopping, we have volunteers that can assist you. Okay. The only, uh, requirements in the space are if you look at each shelf, it's going to have how many of that item you can take from the shelf. Alright. Uh, we don't dictate any choices for you. We just have capacity limits. Great. Great. So we can walk through, um, again, your first area is gonna have a lot of your canned items.
George (15:01):
I'm passing bread here.
Joey (15:03):
Yes, sir. To begin with. Yes. We, uh, this is gonna be kind of where our unique limited offerings are. Okay. Um, if we get something special from North Texas Food Bank, uh, our breads also, a lot of our produce will be front in this space. Okay. Um, this is kind of gonna be our, our, uh, less than consistent items. Okay. And we typically try to include some instruction on those items. If there's any health benefits or any health cautions that we should include, make sure that people are aware of that as well.
George (15:26):
Great. Alright. So then we have various, uh, canned, uh, items.
Joey (15:31):
Yep. We've got Similac, uh, for families with children. Great. Uh, one of our service offerings in the month is a parent shopping day. Okay. And so it's, uh, Wednesday afternoons we have someone that watches kids for the parents while they shop great offers parenting classes. Great. Uh, provides those opportunities.
George (15:47):
Elderly . Ensure.
Joey (15:48):
Yes, sir. <laugh>. Okay. Absolutely.
George (15:50):
VeryGood. All right.
Joey (15:51):
We've got, uh, covid tests, we also have pregnancy tests. Great. Um, we, uh, have no expectations on what comes out of those uses. We just make sure it's available for people. Okay. Uh, we offer sodas and drinks, uh, which you'll notice is we do not offer, um, sugared sodas. Good. Uh, part of that is we do not want to compete with the local businesses. Right. We wanna see them thrive. And also, like you mentioned, diabetes. Right. Hypertension, those things exist here.
George (16:17):
So here's a zero sugar electrolyte propel. So these would be tablets that you could put or packets that you could put into your water. Yes sir. And especially in a hundred degree temperatures this summer, this is the kind of thing that will keep people alive.
Joey (16:31):
Yep. And what's good about those is one of the ways that we've gotten to turn clients onto that, or our neighbors onto that, is we also offer Propel art bottles. Okay. Great. And so as they've come to enjoy the flavor, if they've never had it before, they see these packs they can take home for themselves. Great.
George (16:43):
Great. Alright. Behind you is a freezer. Yes, sir. And so we have meat.
Joey (16:49):
Yep. So this is gonna be our, where our proteins are. Um, this is the hardest space to keep consistently stocked. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, one of the greatest needs is consistent protein access. So we are always so thankful to have this and always looking to grow our partnerships in that space. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, but our clients can take one protein depending on the week, what we have available. It could be a beef product, a chicken product, a shrimp. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, those spaces. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, we get deliveries once a week and so we have to make it last for three days of service. Right. And so we kind of expand that out. So
George (17:15):
This is not open 24 7?
Joey (17:18):
No sir. <laugh>? Um, yep. So we have, uh, three different service days. Okay. Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. All right. Uh, all of our clients are pre-registered for their shopping days. Okay, great. So we know how many people are gonna come outside of new residents that walk in. Good. And then, um, sometimes, you know, they don't show up. Sometimes extra ones come. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, if you're experiencing a food emergency, we'll always serve you Great. It can be more than just your two visits. Good.
George (17:40):
So, alright.
Joey (17:41):
Yeah. Um, so George, if you'll notice in this fridge, uh, we've got these kind of prepared salad meals. Right. Um, again, everything we get from North Texas Food Bank, um, is what we have housed here. But we love getting these offerings that, um, one just feel unique to kind of the grocery access the neighborhood typically gets. Yes. Uh, when you get your items pre-bagged, you're kind of told what to eat. Yes. Um, it's a lot of shelf stable, so we love this. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, what we also love is the experience of a volunteer coming in and saying, oh my gosh, that's so great. You have that. Yes. Uh, and we wanna honor that excitement and then we wanna step back and name. Why are we surprised that this neighborhood would've access to something that we see every
George (18:19):
Day, every
Joey (18:19):
Day? You know, and so we love this fridge. Is that unique item space? It could be, uh, unique juices, prepared meals, things like that. Okay. We've got our dairy fridge, um, which we try to always offer, um, not just milk, but also milk replacements. So oat milk, uh, things like that. Again, we are dependent on the North Texas Food bank. Um, but dairy intolerance is an issue in the neighborhood as well. Okay. And so we do see a lot of clients that choose the oat milk, the almond milk, the rice milk, once they receive kind of a little bit maybe education or tastes. Okay. Um, when our store operates on Saturdays, we do a third Saturday every month we offer food that's made from the items here. Okay. So we can show people how to uniquely use some of the things Good. Be creative in the space.
George (19:00):
I think typically milk is one of the harder things to, to
Joey (19:04):
Get right. Yes, sir. Uh, milk, eggs, and protein. Okay. Those will be your top three. Alright.
George (19:09):
Yes sir. Alright. So we, we've skipped a nile of more canned foods Yep. And things of that nature. And, and here we have corn flakes and we have Yeah. Oatmeal and we have, uh, dog food even and, and Yep. Things like that.
Joey (19:23):
So in the space, again, responding to the neighborhood, letting 'em be the authority mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, you know, I think something that would surprise people is that on fixed income, uh, a lot of things become rarities. And so we have clients who come here and get cereal and it'll tell us, I haven't purchased cereal in a while, especially our senior adults, uh, because I only have a certain amount of money to spend and cereal doesn't make my budget. And so, um, we have clients just get excited about being able to get cereal. Right. Okay. Uh, clients with pets, um, we realize that, you know what, if you can't afford food for yourself, can you afford the extra food for your pets? Right. And so we've started off offering pet food. Okay. Um, we see a lot of clients take advantage of that as well, so.
George (20:02):
Okay. Great. And I'm passing some pasta here. Yes, sir. And tomato sauce. And, uh, so, um, we can make Italian food.
Joey (20:12):
Yes, sir.
George (20:12):
Great. Yep. Alright. Absolutely. And then Joey, I think it's, it's probably important to just point out what's not here. Yeah. Uh, so I don't see a massive section for fruits and vegetables.
Joey (20:27):
No, sir. Not at the moment. We are looking for a partner organization that works in that space. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, again, we are, we're not experts. We're experts in relationship. Right. And so we would love to find a partner that would consistently bring access to produce. Right. Um, we would also love it to be created as a nice little fruit stand. Yeah. Um, so when you walk in, it's cute. It's got a nice aesthetic mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, but yeah, fruits and vegetables are hard to consistently get. Um, when we do get them from North Texas Food Bank, we're thrilled. They're a fantastic partner. Sometimes you might get a whole pallet of carrots though. Okay. And so diversity in that space Yeah. Um, is really hard to consistently have available.
George (21:01):
So that's one of the major issues about the accessibility of a grocery store is the fresh roots and, and, and produce. Yes, sir. And so it's still a challenge even though you've provided an enormous amount of, of food for people's diet, including healthy choices that would improve their diet. And if I had a, a, a register right now and it calculated all of this, what's my bill?
Joey (21:27):
Uh, your bill is $0. We'd, we'd hope you give us a smile on a handshake, but nothing at all
George (21:33):
Remarkable. Thank you, sir. Remarkable. Now, let's just point out that this is a tremendous opportunity for people who care about neighborhoods like this to participate with organizations who are going to try to provide what's lacking in a community. But as Joey and I have talked off camera many times, you know, what we're talking about here is still a charitable enterprise. This is still doing something. Even if the neighborhood has said what it wants, they cannot have the experience that most other people have because their income is so low and because of a long history of segregation and, uh, racial, um, decisions that have been made through government and infrastructure, uh, neighborhoods being sectioned off and the like, that they don't have the opportunity to have the dignity of saying, I'm going to allocate 15% of my monthly income to going to the grocery store and taking care of those things that many of the rest of us can. So that's the long term goal. Yes, sir. But in the meantime, getting people healthy, having raising their sense of dignity Yep. And being able to have the sense that this community can thrive and not be starved for good, healthy choices. This is the stop gap at least.
Joey (23:06):
Yeah. It's supplemental. Okay. Um, and so again, so we've offset about, um, a little over $300,000 probably since February 15th. Remarkable. And so what's great about that is that's $300,000 that has gone back into the pockets, um, at some level of the individuals to then buy those other items Yes. That we don't offer. And I, I think another big piece of this for us, again, back in the space of authority is besides the residents being able to walk to get groceries, which it's been decades since they've been able to do that. Right. Um, besides the dignity and the experience the residents can also see in the market is we said what we wanted Yes. And we were given it. And so it does reemphasize the authority of the residents. Okay. We don't want the residents to look at us with a thankfulness. Yes. We want the residents to look at us with a partnership.
George (23:48):
Well, partnership, as we kind of conclude this conversation, I think is is also part of the Bridge Builders story. Yes, sir. So tell us, Joey, to begin with, how Bridge Builders came to be, because it's a it's a beautiful story.
Joey (24:04):
Yeah. Um, so Bridge Builders was founded, um, officially in 1996. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, but the relationship that founded us started before that. Uh, Mike Fechner, a gentleman from North Dallas and the Velma Mitchell, a woman from South Dallas, met at a city meeting, built a relationship, uh, became very intimately involved in each other's lives. And then through some tragedy that, uh, experienced, they birthed the idea for bridge builders. Right. Um, and what that hope was was to bridge North Dallas and South Dallas, uh, not just the resources with the people, but the relationships and the church. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so we have been going for about 26 years trying to reinforce the idea of bridging relationships between communities and also defining the assets of both communities. Right. Uh, we don't look at, um, north Dallas as being full of assets and South Dallas being deficient. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, the only deficient city we see is the systems around South Dallas. Okay. Uh, but the people here, the church here are, uh, beautiful, thriving individuals full of assets for all of us to grow, not only as Christians, but individuals.
George (25:00):
Well this is you, you mentioned to grow as Christians. There's a lot of churches, and of course we are an interfaith organization and there are people who are not Christian here as well. And we don't, you, you don't discriminate among
Joey (25:12):
Religious, we are non-sectarian offerings, but this
George (25:14):
Is a program called Good God. So mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, we're doing good here. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And for you, I know at least and for many in the Bridge Builders, uh, community, there is a faith component, a god component. Yes, sir. So why are you motivated personally? You've been four years with this organization. Um, this fall will be one year as executive director. Yes, sir. Uh, what drives you Joey?
Joey (25:41):
Um, I owe a debt to South Dallas. Uh, so I've been working in South Dallas for seven or so years. Um, I love to tell people that my church taught me about Jesus, but black women in South Dallas taught me to be like Jesus. Oh my goodness. Um, and so I don't work in this neighborhood because I think this neighborhood needs me. Um, I don't feel a particular calling that God has said, Hey, south Dallas needs you to be there. I feel a debt to the neighborhood, um, as an individual and then as a white man in America, I feel a debt to try and, um, shift the systems that created this environment. And so if I can be a part of thriving rather than a part of detriment, um, I just wanna be here for it.
George (26:20):
Thank you for all you do. I wanna say that we're gonna be continuing these conversations with other partners that Joey and I, through Faith Commons, uh, and Bridge Builders have been engaging with as we begin to look at different ways of approaching and collaborating on this effort to build a thriving, healthy, sustainable South Dallas community. Not from the outside, but as Joey said, because of the authority of the neighbors and the communities themselves. Thank you for joining us on. Good God. We'll see you again.