Awesome Foundation 2025
https://www.awesomefoundation.org/en/submissions/new?chapter=dc
Tell us about your awesome project! (2000 chars)
We want to build a new grocery store, but we're starting small: just a food co-op that's serving out members out of a church basement (Lutheran Place @ Vermont Ave and N St NW). We currently share a fridge with the church, but this space is limited. If we want to serve more people, we're going to need more space.
Groceries are getting more and more expensive, and while the Mid-Atlantic is able to grow everything we need, for some reason that isn't where our food usually comes from — what if we could stay local and eat what we grow? Is there enough money in the system to make it worth the farmers' time? We are strong in our conviction that by working directly with farmers, we can provide good, local food at a reasonable price that put more money in the pockets of both the farmer and the consumer.
Currently, we pick up our food from the market on Sundays and deliver it to our members at our meeting that evening. What if we could offer that same produce on a different day? At that point, the number of people we can provide for is limited by our storage space.
We're on the path to having a physical storefront, and that will be able to use the same chest freezer and a chest refrigerator that we intend to purchase with this grant.
How will you use the money? (500 chars)
- 2 chest freezers (10 cu. ft. each) = $700
- LLC incorporation fees = $275
Tell us a little about yourself (500 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.
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?
The chest freezers will be put to use immediately so that we would be able to store our food (our food isn't guaranteed to be there longer than a day). We have begun advertising our food coop in local newsletters (like 730dc), so the new members are already on their way. We offer extra shopping hours on Wednesdays, but it's currently only dry goods; these freezers will immediately expand our offerings.
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 from the Beloved Community Incubator.