Back in 2016, Elizabeth Abunaw found herself on Chicago’s West Side needing to conduct one of life’s basic necessities of today’s modern world.  She needed to find a bank in the area where she could effect a simple banking transaction.  Needing cash, she looked for a branch of her banking institution, but none was close.  Elizabeth also noticed that there were no big chain drug stores or even a single grocery store less than a mile from where she happened to be.  And, since she had been riding the bus, she found her surroundings inconvenient and inconsistent with her normal. She contacted a friend and found out she was in the Austin Neighborhood.

Since moving to Chicago from upstate New York in 2012 to attend the University of Chicago, Ms. Abunaw has lived in better served (predominantly white) neighborhoods like South Loop, Lakeview, and West Town. She was not accustomed to the lack of access to basic daily needs, such as being able to fill/refill medical prescriptions, make routine banking transactions, or purchase groceries.  Elizabeth saw a need in the community and armed with an MBA from the University of Chicago, eight years of sales experience working at General Mills selling to major grocery store chains and with the addition of some personal savings, 40 Acres Fresh Market was born in late 2017 and introduced its first pop-up market to the public on January 20, 2018 at Sankofa Cultural Arts and Business Center in the Austin Community.

With ‘Produce To The People’ being its motto, 40 Acres Fresh Market offers affordable fruit and vegetable subscriptions to its customers and has home delivery available. All produce is locally sourced from Chicago wholesalers. We asked Elizabeth her thoughts on the disparities in basic services for people in the Austin community.  She pulled no punches with her answer, saying, “Structural racism, segregation, white flight, redlining, and the fact that developers want to claim that our neighborhoods can’t sustain businesses, yet, put them right next door to affluent white areas and figure that we will just travel further for goods and services.” We also asked Elizabeth how fulfilling has this work been and she replied, “It’s the hardest job I’ve ever had, but it’s the best job I’ve ever had. I work longer hours than I did in corporate. It is physically taxing hauling boxes of produce from place to place, sometimes walking up 3-4 flights of stairs delivering bags of produce.  But, that is part of our customer service, and we are proud of that.”  

Some would call Austin a food desert; however, Elizabeth disagrees with that terminology.  “A desert is barren.  Austin is not barren, there is plenty of food.  There’s McDonald’s, there’s a Popeyes, there’s a Church’s and a JJ’s…it’s not barren.” She further stated, “Deserts are naturally occurring environments.  A neighborhood without access to healthy food does not happen naturally. Lack of access to healthy food is done by design to either intentionally choke off a neighborhood, or it is done out of neglect. So, I feel the term “food apartheid” is more appropriate than “food desert.” 40 Acres has three full-time employees and is looking to expand. Elizabeth plans to open a brick-and-mortar 40 Acres Fresh Market location, but the timeline is still up in the air. She thought 2020 would be the year; however, with the coronavirus outbreak, things have been pushed back. Once a site and financing are secured, the process for establishing a brick-and-mortar will be back in full swing.

40 Acres Fresh Market staffers pride themselves on their knowledge of different produce and feel customer service is paramount to the market’s continued success. One of their goals is to make each customer’s shopping experience palatable and seamless. Ms. Abunaw continues to be proud of the 40 Acres Fresh Market model and the fact that she can provide access to fresh produce to a community that truly deserves it.  Thank you, Elizabeth Abunaw, we are proud of you, too.

To contact 40 Acres Fresh Market, call them at 847-497-5435, go to their website www.fortyacresfreshmarket.com, or email them at info@fortyacresfreshmarket.com 

The Black Foodies are food bloggers/vloggers and husband and wife of 27 years. Visit our website: www.theblackfoodies.com and follow The Black Foodies on all social media platforms.