IN INNER CITIES LIKE THE ONE I GREW UP IN, THERE ARE CORNER STORES AND CHURCHES ON EVERY BLOCK.
JESUS AND JOLLY RANCHERS CAN BE FOUND IN GREAT ABUNDANCE, BUT THE NEAREST HEALTH FOOD STORES ARE OFTEN MILES AWAY. AS A CHILD, I EXPERIENCED THE INTERESTING JUXTAPOSITION OF WALKING DOWN MY STREET TO THE CORNER STORE FOR HOT SAUSAGES, CHIPS, SODA, AND CANDY & THEN RIDING WITH MY MOM TO THE HEALTH FOOD STORE, WHICH WAS 40 MINUTES AWAY FROM HOME.  THIS WAS WAY BEFORE HUMMUS WAS COOL, AND BEFORE WHEAT GRASS SHOTS HAD BECOME A THING. MY NEIGHBORHOOD FRIENDS HAD NO IDEA WHAT TOFU WAS, AND MY MOM AND I WERE ALWAYS THE ONLY BLACK FOLKS IN THAT STORE THAT SMELLED OF INCENSE, VITAMINS, AND PROTEIN BARS. 

DRIVING TO THAT HEALTH FOOD STORE WAS NOTHING SHORT OF INCONVENIENT FOR MY FAMILY, AND WE DID NOT GO OFTEN. BUT WHILE THE ACCESSIBILITY OF LOCAL CORNER STORES DO OFFER A MEASURE OF CONVENIENCE, THE UNFORTUNATE REALITY IS THAT THE PRODUCTS MOST OFTEN SOLD THERE ARE MASSIVELY INCONVENIENT TO THE HEALTH OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS. DIABETES IS INCONVENIENT. HEART DISEASE IS INCONVENIENT. CANCER IS INCONVENIENT.

LET'S CHANGE THIS NARRATIVE. AS I’VE GROWN OLDER AND BECOME MORE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM OF “FOOD DESERTS”, I FIND MYSELF DAYDREAMING ABOUT THE TYPES OF PRODUCTS THAT I WISH I HAD SEEN ON THE SHELVES OF THE CORNER STORES OF MY CHILDHOOD. AND AS A MOM OF 3 LITTLE KIDS, I AM GRATEFUL NOW MORE THAN EVER THAT MY MOTHER EXPOSED ME TO HEALTHIER FOOD OPTIONS AT AN EARLY AGE. I’M CONVINCED THAT EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE THIS KIND OF EXPOSURE, NO MATTER WHERE THEY LIVE.

 I CAN’T HELP BUT WONDER: WHAT IF EVERY CORNER STORE IN THE HOOD WAS A HEALTH FOOD STORE? WHAT IF EVERY “FOOD DESERT” HAD AN OASIS?

OASIS MARKET: THE CONSCIOUS CORNER STORE EXISTS TO HELP PROMOTE AND NORMALIZE HEALTHY EATING AND CONSCIOUS LIVING IN HISTORICALLY EXCLUDED COMMUNITIES. WE'RE STARTING SMALL ONLINE BY SIMPLY VISUALIZING THE THINGS WE'D LIKE TO SEE BEING SOLD IN NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE THE ONE I GREW UP IN. CONSIDER THIS THE BLUEPRINT FOR WHAT WE HOPE WILL ONE DAY FILL THE SHELVES OF COUNTLESS BRICK-AND-MORTAR LOCATIONS.

PEACE, LOVE & HEALTHY HOODS FOR ALL!