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Laresia and Austin Avery dream big. They want food waste and food deserts to be eliminated to provide vulnerable communities with access to fresh, healthy food and to mitigate the effects of waste. They want this to happen on a national level, but first they are trying to eradicate waste and hunger in Memphis.
The couple behind Fish-n-Loaves, a Memphis nonprofit dedicated to eliminating food waste and feeding people in food deserts, have had success with an aquaponics farm and food distribution center in Frayser. Now they areplan to open another sustainability center in Orange Mound, the next step on their way to keeping Memphians healthy.
“Why is Orange Mound the closest neighborhood? … I wish we could say we sat down, we had this great vision, God said, ‘Ahhhh!’ But that’s not (what happened), “said Austin.
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The Averys looked at the history of Orange Mound and its importance in Memphis, as well as data from the American Heart Association on food insecurity areas.
“Our aim is to eliminate food waste, eliminate food insecurity and eradicate food deserts,” said Austin.
And they have made considerable progress towards this goal at Frayser.
Fishes-n-loaves serves more than 500 neighborhood meals each month and saves more than a ton of food waste, Austin said based on reports the organization sends to its partner organizations, including the American Heart Association and Care Foundation. It serves meals and distributes food from the aquaponic garden, as well as donations from individuals and restaurants.
“It’s a transformation”
Choosing Frayser as the first location was an easy one – Laresia grew up in the neighborhood. The Frayser Sustainability Hub was a concept they introduced to the American Heart Association in hopes of trying something new in Memphis and eventually expanding. They found a site and set about repairing it, creating an aquaponic garden, and feeding the neighbors.
“We got a piece of land and then we started throwing pieces together,” said Austin. “We want every place we enter to look better than when we arrive.”
The Averys run a team that works in the garden and the neighborhood café – the food distribution center – growing a variety of fruits and vegetables, from vegetables to tomatoes. That food, rescued food from restaurants and donated cardboard or canned goods are distributed free of charge to those who pass by the café.
As they made changes to the property, they saw homeowners around them making changes to theirs too. Flowerbeds appeared in the courtyards, Laresia said, boards were torn from the windows and tenants moved into formerly vacant properties.
“People came up to us and talked to us and it was amazing. It’s a transformation. What we wanted to do. We wanted an oasis in the middle of a neighborhood, ”said Austin.
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Fish-n-loaves also works with Christ Community Health Services, who refer patients to the nonprofit to help people with diabetes and other medical conditions find easy access to fresh food. Healthy eating is something Laresia is passionate about.
As she grew up, she saw how lack of access to fresh food affected friends, neighbors, and classmates. And when the couple started a family, Austin decided to change his eating habits due to polycystic kidney disease, a decision Laresia was only happy to help with.
She started adding more chickpeas, kale, and other healthy foods to her daily meals, a big change for Austin, who grew up on the Gulf Coast and loves Creole and Cajun food. The two made some compromises – Laresia will make cheesesteak, but will replace the meat with mushrooms.
Her teaching about fresh fruits and vegetables also has an impact on children who attend the sustainability center. One day she noticed that while the food was being distributed, children stopped asking for candy or cookies and started looking for apples and oranges.
“They said, ‘I don’t want any candy today. I want some fruit, ‘”she said.
Student Engagement
The Orange Mound site, which is vacant on Douglass Ave. 2854 will not be a copy of the Frayser hub. The Averys said they want it to reflect the neighborhood.
An application to the Memphis and Shelby County Board of Adjustment outlines plans to build another aquaponic garden with a pantry and soup kitchen and a studio apartment.
Ultimately, Austin and Laresia want to inspire others to look at food waste and see the model rolled out across the country to help eradicate food deserts everywhere. All of this is part of a broader “hungernomics” program that is ultimately designed to tackle food waste and inaccessibility on a large scale.
Right now, they’re focused on expansion within Memphis, initiatives in St. Louis and along the Gulf Coast, and a new student ambassador program, the Junior Food Waste Council, to encourage students at Shelby County Schools to learn about healthy eating and eliminating food waste.
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“We had a lot of young people who asked us, ‘What can I do?’ and ‘What can I be a part of?’ ”said Laresia.
One of the early student ambassadors, Amaree Williams, 10, said he wanted to help eliminate food waste and encourage his classmates and friends to do the same.
“(I want to) help my church and help other people’s churches and help people help their churches,” he said.
Corinne S. Kennedy reports on economic development, football and healthcare for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached by email at Corinne.Kennedy@CommercialAppeal.com
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