Food and Art Market showcasing BIPOC & Indigenous vendors
Jun 27, 2022 09:06AM ● By Content Editor
By Shalon Monroe - WDIO News - June 25, 2022
Growing produce, meats, and crafting products give you a sense of pride. That was on full display at the first Aicho's Foods and Art market event of 2022. Everything is all in one local and convenient place.
"There was a lot of energy in there. There were a lot of people who were doing wonderful crafts, growing food and products, and processing food. It is a really wonderful event,” says Duluth resident Ellen Sandbeck.
The market will have around 23 local, Indigenous, and BIPOC food producers and artists’ vendors. AICHO has several goals with these markets, which will be to bring fresh, healthy, locally grown and produce foods and vibrant cultural artwork to the Hillside community and Duluth. The other goal is to stimulate Indigenous and BIPOC food and art economy in Duluth.
Unlike other markets, this one has a different spin to it as people can purchase meats and produce with EBT and Snap benefits.
"We want everyone to have access to healthy foods. We see a lot of farmer's markets, and they don't include EBT, and they don't include snap, but Duluth has a lot of food deserts. There are pockets where you cannot; you have to go a long way to get groceries,” said Khayman Goodsky, Indigenous First Co-Coordinator.
Goodsky also shared that, “Our thing is it shouldn't matter who you are or where you come from; we all need that access. We deserve that. "Our goal is to strive for healthy eating, which is why we included ebt and snap at all of our markets so; everyone can have access to healthy food markets."
While offering the use of different payment options, keeping items at a reasonable price was on the mind of one local vendor. "I try to keep the prices down compared to the stores," mentioned Russ Rule, owner of Silver Feather Homestead.
If you can, buying fresh and local groceries is a good option, as Delilah Savage, Indigenous chef and baker at Baby Cakes Wild Rice Bakery, shared. "It's always better to have local and fresh produce instead of big companies. You rather support a local company that's local, like my farm fresh eggs. I have my own chicken eggs, and that is what I use for these. If I didn't have them, then; I would go out and get local eggs."
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