Awesome Foundation 2025
https://www.awesomefoundation.org/en/submissions/new?chapter=dc
Tell us about your awesome project! (2000 chars)
Greens & Beans is a budding food co-op based in DC's Ward 2. We are a worker-focused cooperative whose mission is to link DC residents with good, local food at a reasonable price that works for the producers and the members. We have 15 active members, we're based out of local church, and we're working with a nearby farm to source our produce. In the next year, we're looking to grow to 50 members, have a physical storefront, and work with multiple farmers to increase our variety.
How will you use the money? (500 chars)
In pursuit of having a physical storefront and being able to store food throughout the week, we intend to purchase two 10 cu. ft. convertible chest freezers (~$300 used each) and we intend to use the remaining funds to subsidize the costs of incorporation (~$275 for an LLC in DC)
Tell us a little about yourself (500 chars)
As a club, we represent many different people: citizens, noncitizens, bikers, drivers, walkers — but we all share a love of community and drive to make our community better. We're all residents of Ward 2, and our goal is leverage our power as consumers to provide better foodstuffs to those around us. By working together, we can make life better for all of us.
Images of your project
How does your project *directly* benefit the city and citizens of Washington DC? Specifically: #1 -What DC Ward are you based in? #2 - What DC Ward(s) will your proposal serve?
We are based in Ward 2, but we welcome members from across the DMV. We directly benefit the city and citizens by providing local produce outside of standard farmers' market hours and at a lower price. We're able to get a lower price by negotiating with and ordering directly from the farmers. The Dupont farmers' market takes a 20% cut of the farmers' revenue, so by ordering directly from the farmer, we are able to immediately secure a 20% discount. By ordering in bulk, we are able to negotiate for even lower prices.
When will your project take place, when do you need the money and how will you raise the rest of the money required for success?
Since we are currently located within the Lutheran Place church on Vermont Ave and N St NW, the chest freezers will be put to use immediately so that we would be able to store our food for longer than a day. We plan to enter into an agreement with Emissary, a cafe in Dupont, to use their unused property on P St NW as our storefront. The funding for rent will come from a revenue sharing agreement with Emissary. We will be able to better serve members and non-members alike simply with the two freezers, even without the separate rental space.
How did you hear about the Awesome Foundation and (optional) what are your social media accounts so we can help promote your awesome idea?
We heard about it