Graffiti and Grub’s LaDonna Redmond profiled in Time Magazine

LaDonna Redmond was recently profiled in Time Magazine as one of only 25 “Responsibility Pioneers” nationwide. 

by Steven Gray

LaDonna Redmond considers opening an organic-food market on Chicago’s South Side the act of a freedom fighter. After 10 years of having to drive across town to find produce free of pesticides, the veteran community activist recently opened Graffiti and Grub, a for-profit market staffed by inner-city youth who also work on urban farms in an employment program run through the store. “There aren’t enough of these choices in the South Side,” she says, adding, “Everyone deserves healthy food.”

 

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GRAFFITI AND GRUB: SLAYING FOOD DESERTS ONE PEAR AT A TIME

  

Englewood and Washington Park get a Sustainable, Organic Grocery Store to call their own 

CHICAGO — This Friday, August 28^th marks the highly anticipated grand opening of Graffiti and Grub, a market ten years in the making. Serving the underserved South Side communities of Englewood and Washington Park, Graffiti and Grub began simply: a husband and wife embarked on a journey to find food that their son (allergic to eggs, shellfish, dairy and peanuts) could eat. In their West Side community, this proved to be nearly impossible. “You could find drugs in my community, you could find a gun in my community, but you couldn’t find a tomato,” LaDonna Redmond lamented. Born of this reality was Ms. Redmond’s life trajectory of working to solve food justice issues. She entered the realms of reclaiming vacant lots for urban farming, and ultimately, creating a store to serve communities starved for wholesome food options.

This Friday, Graffiti and Grub will open its doors, a culmination of many dreams. Profiled in the Chicago Tribune, on Chicago Public Radio, and CNN, the vision for the space is something fresh for the neighborhood: a grocer that not only offers healthy choices, but is in touch with the hip hop generation (two graffiti murals are in the works, and the staff is comprised of youth who also work on urban farming sites in an employment program run through the store).

Join Graffiti and Grub at its Grand Opening, Friday, August 28^th from 3pm-7pm, and on Saturday and Sunday 8am-4pm. The store is located at 5923 S. Wentworth on Chicago’s South Side.