Free Root Operation

Chicago’s south and west sides, which are primarily Black and Brown, are food deserts. Our largest program is our Chicago Food Pairing Program (CFPP), which started in the Summer of 2020 due to mass grocery store closures in Chicago. I put this program together rapidly with a coalition of organizers and many dedicated volunteers. While we were able to serve 400+ families in two weeks, this wasn’t sustainable. This prize would allow my team to fully build out this program (create an app for participants, hire more employees, sustain service to more people, etc.)

Additionally, our Education Emancipation program is our oldest standing and second-largest program. We’ve been partners with Bouchet Elementary School since 2017. We’ve provided resources for students like tablets, school supplies, and funding for field trips. We have two peace rooms built in Bouchet. Stocked with yoga mats, fidget spinners, blankets, and more—these rooms are used as an alternative to in-school suspensions, as the school-to-prison pipeline is most prevalent among Black and Brown students. Students and teachers use this space to mediate conflict, meditate, and find joy. This funding would help us reach our goal of expanding this program to more Chicago Public Schools (CPS). 

I was raised by a single mother on the southside of Chicago in poverty. Despite our circumstances, my mother fought for me to succeed. In high school, I left my community at 5:45 am to get to the best school in the city by 8 am on public transportation. At 16, I founded this nonprofit while I experienced many of the issues I was combatting. I did this with the vision that Black and Brown communities don’t have to be plagued by gun violence. Based on experience and sociological data, I know that gun violence is a side effect of scarcity which is a man-made issue. I believe that resources and relief from trauma will make it so that gun violence and gang activity aren’t necessary aspects of our communities. Many join gangs and become active stakeholders of gun violence because they need money, other resources, or to feel like they’re in community. My organization addresses these gaps to intercept poverty-induced gun violence by centering the values of opportunity and compassion. Our goals are to serve 200+ families a week through our CFPP, expand to another CPS partner school, and expand our team and organizational infrastructure while doing it. 

Chicago had 4,033 shooting victims and 769 people die of homicides in 2020. Nationally, 39,000 people die from gun violence every year. In 2020, that number rose to more than 41,000 people that died from gun violence. COVID-19 exacerbated an already deadly human rights issue and public health crisis. With the loss of jobs, resources, and community—we saw a rise in gun violence in nearly every major city and at the national level. Black and Brown communities have been historically disenfranchised and therefore are disproportionately affected by these issues.

By creating access to nutritious food, quality education, and resources, we build structures that help our communities reach sustainability despite the government’s inability to provide for us. On an intrapersonal level, we are building connections and relationships within our communities to create more compassion and understanding of differences. 

I started this work as a child. I have first-hand experience with gun violence and poverty. After learning about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in high school, I couldn't help but see the difference between all that was listed on the Declaration, and what existed in my community. I began to imagine what it would look like for the south side of Chicago to have all that we needed. I am unique in that I have and am still experiencing the issues I face. However, I am not asking for resources. I am building them. And what makes me disruptive is that I am asking my community what they need before building. My organization held a Day of Action in 2018 and 2019 to ask South Shore residents what they need, and what they want the community to look like. Volunteers also distributed and raised awareness of our Community Needs and Assets Assessment (CNAA), which was the first conducted in South Shore. The CNAA is the organization's qualitative and quantitative approach to ensure the work we are doing is in direct collaboration and alignment with the community. This work informs our programming and focus as an organization. 

We always ask what our community members need before serving them. Through this, we ensure that we meet their needs and don’t impose our own ideas on them. We are currently applying for grants and fundraising to fuel our organization. In regards to our CFPP, we are serving a family a week until we gain the resources needed to expand this program. During a pandemic that has left many families struggling financially in a city with mass food deserts, we are ensuring that people have access to nutritious food. As e-learning became required, we provided 8 tablets to Bouchet Elementary School to help students in need not fall behind during this academic shift. We are in the process of publishing our Day of Action Data so that we can create discourse in our communities about how we can address our findings and create change. These steps are impacting humanity by giving people agency—over what they put into their bodies, over what their communities look like, over how they learn, and over their ability to change their communities. We’re not just meeting demonstrated needs. We’re inviting people to join us in doing it.