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Cass
We stopped for photos outside the Charlotte Lounge on Charlotte
Street because the sign was so great.
We parked up near the Cass Corridor Food Co Op. Although the building was painted in bright murals and had an Open sign, we thought maybe it was closed, since it had no windows and there was no one around. After we finished taking pictures a couple of people appeared in the co op's car park . They were watching us. They called over to us, they thought we were lost because we were walking around erratically, looking at the road, the skyline, taking photographs, being out of place white people. We went and said hello and they immediately clocked our accents, wanted to know what we were up to, just chatting. The woman, the couple were a man and a woman, the woman said that she was on the board of the co op and that they were having financial difficulties, trying to keep the place stocked, trying to keep it going. She said something that I haven't been able to shake out of my head since: "People around here need good food." She was right. If you live in this part of town there is nowhere to buy fresh fruit and vegetables but at least a thousand places to buy the crappest shitfood on earth. I think it's a poverty thing, and yes, probably a race thing too. She invited us inside and we were astonished by the place. It was an average-sized supermarket inside and most of the shelves were empty, like a vision of eastern Europe in the 1970s. But some of the shelves had food, and it was good stuff too. There was a refrigerated unit with organic vegetables, oranges, even wheatgrass. We bought some gigantic strawberries and talked some more to the guys at the checkout. Then we left and carried on with the trip, and ate those berries on our way. I don't know why this little episode stuck with me so much. I felt moved by it, the idea of this big hearted place struggling to keep going, the friendliness we encountered there from people willing to accept strangers, maybe it was just the strawberries, which were delicious. Maybe it was the simple truth that people around here need good food. I found out later that the Cass Corridor Food Co Op has been going for some time, probably a legacy of the Cass Corridor arts movement in the early 70s. It would be terrible if it folded. People around there need good food. If you have the inclination, why don't you visit their website and offer them some support? Cass Corridor Food Co Op |
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