FLINT, Mich. — A plastic-covered hoop house sits between two homes on Brownell Boulevard. It is the heart of EJ’s Farm, where Roy Fields has spent the past 15 years growing and giving away food to his neighbors.
Officially called the Brownell Boulevard Coalition, the project is better known by the name of Fields’ grandson, EJ, who once helped with every part of the farm.
“Not only is it a food desert, but the people cannot afford to pay the prices…they cut the food stamps down but the price of the food keeps going up,” said Fields who has lived on Flint’s north side for more than four decades. “I don’t sell anything, and I always give it away.”
Food deserts can be defined as areas experiencing high poverty levels with 33 percent of the population more than a mile from a grocery store.
Since 2009, Fields has provided produce to neighbors struggling with food insecurity — through the 2008 recession, the Flint water crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. One year, he froze 100 gallons of collard greens, filling four freezers and gave it all away.
Fields now owns two lots with a hoop house, raised beds and four additional homes on his block. He estimates he has fed at least eight families on his street, and many more beyond. Teenagers drop by for free pizza on event days. Mothers from down the street leave with sacks of vegetables for their children.
At 67, Fields is no stranger to hardship. He has lost a kidney, battled cancer and undergone spinal surgery that left him paralyzed.
“My doctor said, ‘Hey man, I didn’t think you were gonna make it,’” Fields recalled. “I’m blessed to be here. I’m super blessed to be able to say, ‘I tilled that.’”
He credits his recovery in part to the food he grows. “They told me, you better continue to eat just like you’re eating for the rest of your life.”
Fields’ story is one example of how Flint residents are using food as a tool for resilience and recovery. Across town, others have taken a more commercial approach.
In 2014, Erin Caudell and her partner, Franklin Pleasant, opened The Local Grocer, 601 Martin Luther King Ave., to expand access to healthy food.
“I was realizing that we needed to have people who were farming not just for personal use or to give away…we needed to have farmers who were growing for sale,” said Caudell, who holds a horticulture degree from Michigan State University.
She also hopes the store fills a gap in the area, where few grocery stores, especially independent ones offering healthy food, still exist.
They began with hoop houses in Beecher, selling produce at farmers markets before opening the store. The Local Grocer now doubles as a community hub, hosting craft classes, a chess club and other gatherings.
COVID-19 reshaped the business. “By the end of COVID, people wanted ready-made food,” she said. They launched a meal prep service and now cater events using ingredients from their farm.
“We hope we are meeting that balance of what people need, what they want to buy, and also having healthy options,” Caudell said.
Both Fields and Caudell credit local nonprofits such as Edible Flint for helping sustain urban farming. During the water crisis, Fields sought support to install a well to avoid using city water. When he withdrew his funding request so another youth project could be supported instead, a local foundation stepped in to help cover the cost.
“The water crisis changed things because people didn’t trust the water for a while,” Caudell said. “We’re starting to see people build their own gardens again, but water is expensive. Edible Flint is doing a great job at the educational farm, demonstrating how to do it yourself. The kits they provide are excellent resources, and people use them.”
Edible Flint director Lauralyn Handyside said the nonprofit grew out of conversations among local gardeners, MSU Extension staff and market growers. Flint’s abundance of vacant land — more than 11,000 empty lots in 2010 — was a driving factor. That number has since climbed to more than 18,000, according to the Flint Property Portal.
The nonprofit’s goal, she said, is to connect residents with gardening resources and encourage self-sufficiency, from backyard gardens to church and community plots, while also helping more people grow food for sale.
“In the city of Flint, that is especially important because of the water crisis,” Handyside said.” Having more nutritiously packed vegetables actually helps with lead mitigation,” she said.
As Flint continues to grapple with food access, residents and organizations are working to fill the gaps through small farms, community stores and educational efforts. With support from local networks and a focus on sustainability, efforts like EJ’s Farm, The Local Grocer and Edible Flint are helping to create more consistent access to fresh, healthy food across the city.