Hungry? Bringing Good Eats to South Madison

I’m a strong believer that community betterment is more successful when efforts are put towards grass root causes and directly working with the people that make up the community, rather than enforcing rules and regulations on them. Many downtrodden communities find themselves frustrated when they know their are problems to be fixed, but they become even more frustrated when they’re not given the opportunity to contribute to what exactly they want to focus on fixing and how they should go about fixing these problems. I chose to use South Madison as a case study because of it’s proximity to campus and because it’s a good example of a community facing this issue in our society.

My project began by looking at cultural, economic and health factors that led to poor conditions within South Madison. After going through the steps of the introductory assignment, I decided to take a more narrow approach and only focus on improving South Madison’s cultural environment.

So you may be wondering, how do you plan to improve the culture of South Madison? My plan looked for ways to literally bring people together over an interest or necessity of the larger group. What did I use to bring together? Food! Food is a common value across cultures that tends to bring people together. Food brings families together for discussion around a dinner table; people hold business luncheons and food is commonly used as the ultimate incentive. These are all examples of people coming together over food and positive associations with food. I investigated how I could use the positive associations linked with food to create positive links among the segmented cultural groups.  Considered how food could be used to improve all of these factors and help to bring South Madison’s segmented groups together.

When I took a closer look at the community some of my initial assumptions were proved wrong. While South Madison does have crime issues and a lower socioeconomic status than the rest of Madison and Dane Country, tons of vibrant cultures certainly do exist in the area. And while many of these enclaves do tend to only stay among themselves, recently a number of associations and individuals on the UW-Madison campus have taken steps towards integrating these segmented groups more. For example a group called Slow Foods-UW. Slow Foods is a group of UW students who are interested in where our food comes from, geographically and culturally. Started in 2007, Slow Food UW is part of a global movement that appreciates the stories behind the meals we eat. The group has been working to engage the youth in South Madison to teach them how to cook and eventually spread their newfound knowledge to their families.

Another recent example of trying to bring the entire area of South Madison together is the Celebrate South Madison Festival that was held for the second time earlier this fall The event represents South Madison’s acknowledgement of their need to work on the disconnected culture and proves that the area has much potential to bring these groups together to be one cohesive community. The event also provides a solid idea of all the different ethnic groups in the area and the unique events they have and that many are enthusiastic about.

The festival celebrates the diversity, culture, and beauty of South Madison. The festival brings art, music, dance, film and poetry together, with gardening, cooking and eating to create an inclusive and uniquely South Madison experience a sense of our place.

Here is a YouTube video with several interviews of people attending the festival: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKdFhFcSjio

After considering efforts that have already been taken I decided to create a hypothetical event that would bring together all South Madison residents, food related organizations and any organizations working on projects in South Madison.

I would like to hold the event at South Madison Farmers Market. South Madison Farmers Market provides a common-grounds venue to bring different groups together, it creates a greater sense of community and it revolves around food. Additionally, SM Farmer’s Market is a perfect venue because there are currently only a couple dedicated vendors and they would most likely use this as an opportunity to grow their event.

I would invite other pre-established groups to the event in hopes that they would encourage all of their followers to participate. There are several types of groups I would seek to get involved. Each type of group serves a different purpose. Micro-local groups consist of organizations and groups in South Madison, many of which represent individual enclaves. Nonprofit organizations would serve as neutral parties who would be involved because they care about community betterment or food, local South Madison restaurants and potential business partners.

As of the last count in early 2011, there are 35 South Park Street Organizations, which are community groups and initiatives interested in positive change for the area! These groups represent the micro-level organizations that we want to intertwine. Some examples are:

• Neighborhood Associations – Burr Oaks, Bay Creek &
• Catholic Multicultural Center
• Boys and Girls Club of Dane County
• Centro Guadalupe

Then there are the non-profit organizations that would serve as neutral parties and could help bring the segmented micro-level organizations together. Slow Foods is an example of this. Growing Power is another example. They have a chapter in the Madison area. They are a nonprofit organization that supports people from diverse backgrounds and the environment in which they live, by helping to provide access to healthy, high-quality and affordable food.

South Madison restaurants are diverse in ethnicity options and notably delicious! This would give people the chance to try new foods and potentially help establishments increase their patronage. I would ask restaurants to attend the event and either have a booth where they could sell samples of their best dishes. For an extra dose of fun, they could decorate their table or booth to better represent their restaurant and heritage. Just like all the food carts near State Street!

Madison Fresh Market is currently in the planning stages to create a new mobile grocery store. He plans on bringing his mobile grocery store, the freshmobile, to lower income areas that tend to be less healthy areas of Madison, one of which will be the South Park Street area in South Madison. The freshmobile could be at the event to gain visibility and awareness. Additionally, it would appropriately fit in with the food focus of the event.

Overall, the event would bring together different ethnic enclaves and neutral parties that could help connect these enclaves, all through the focus of food. The end goal is to bridge the separated enclaves and help them merge into one cohesive South Madison system. This is one small step towards making the world a better place.

Introducing How I Can Improve South Madison

South Madison is a vibrant multicultural community composed of a number of neighborhoods, each with a unique identity that contributes to the overall eclectic vibe of the area.  While these individual groups have rich cultural heritage, they are fragmented and lack a relationship, which results in South Madison’s lack of a cohesive identity. Furthermore, South Madison is known as a crime-ridden and poverty-stricken region, which contributes to the areas low morale and unfavorable identity. These perceptions of Madison may be due to culturally salient stereotypes about to people of color and people of lower socioeconomic status, both of whom comprise a substantial proportion of South Madison’s population.

In recent years, community leaders inside and outside of South Madison have looked at ways to uplift the area and attempted to re-brand South Madison, but minimal progress has been made.

I plan to make the world a better place by bring the segmented groups of South Madison together in order to enhance the overall community. Food is a shared value across cultures that often holds cultural significance and can be used as a tool to bring people together. Cultural, health and economic aspects of food could be used to improve the South Madison community.

I would like replicate Robert Putnam’s social capital model to increases connections in communities. The core idea of Putnam’s social capital is that, “social networks have value. Just as a screwdriver (physical capital) or a university education (human capital) can increase productivity (both individual and collective), so do social contacts affect the productivity of individuals and groups” (Putnam, 2000). I will use food to create connections and increase social contacts.

South Madison background information that proves the need for an increase in ties between South Madison residents:

Historically: Founded in the early 1900s, South Madison is one of the oldest areas in the city. Though some of its prominent landmarks are gone, long-time residents and historians both recognize that the area is still a treasured community, with stories, traditions, and artifacts that needs to be preserved and passed on to future generations.

Culturally:  Since South Madison was founded, one of its distinguishing characteristics has been its multicultural and multiethnic residents. During the first half of the last century, the area was home to working and middle class families, many of whom immigrated to America and were of color. That trend continues today. The South Madison residents represented the following races/ethnicities: 31.5 Caucasian, 31.2% African-American, 0.5% Native American, 21.2% Asian/Pacific Islander, 20.7% Hispanic, and 11.1% other (US Census Bureau, 2011). This is a sharp contrast to the city of Madison as a whole, in which 84% of the residents are Caucasian.

Economically: Currently South Madison is reflective of national trends indicating that unemployment and underemployment are much higher among blacks, Latinos, and some Asian groups.  South Madison is home to many working class families, and many of these families are facing pay cuts, and an ever-eroding standard of living. South Madison is home to a number of small, independently/family-run businesses. There are numerous restaurants and grocery stores that are culturally specific and one-of-a-kind in Madison. Raising awareness of these unique establishments could boost their patronage and increase revenue flow into the South Park community.

Health: Park Street benefits from the presence of two hospitals, multiple clinics, and other health-based initiatives, many of them now coming together under the umbrella of the YMCA-sponsored, Healthy Park Street Initiatives (Dane County YMCA, 2011). While these health-focused facilities are located in South Madison, there is a major lack of attention on South Madison residents’ physical health and food-related issues. There are several opportunities in South Madison to purchase and consume fresh, healthy food, for example the South Madison Farmer’s Market, but there is minimal city-level awareness good food and nutrition in the area. South Madison reflects national trends in that there is a desire to improve nutrition, combat childhood obesity, and generally promote healthy living, but little action is being taken.

The people, organizations and businesses directly in and on the outskirts of South Madison show that there’s a great deal of potential for improvements.

South Madison stakeholders: Many people and groups are interested in this issue. Various community groups are interested in helping to grow South Madison’s rich culture of locally grown and ethnic food. South Madison business owners are interested in bringing in more consumers from the greater Madison area as well as more from their own neighborhoods. Local food pantries in South Madison would like to increase awareness of their services but also find volunteers and donors from the Greater Madison Area. South Madison residents care about this issue because many residents want the opportunity to eat locally grown food and enjoy various diverse restaurants. Students will be interested in this issue because they are often looking for ways to get out into the community. Lastly, the Greater Madison Community would be interested in this because South Madison is an important part of the city and improving food in that area would benefit the whole city.

Food and Engagement in South Madison: The different types of food establishments provide different types of opportunities to better South Madison through social and economic engagement.

Restaurants, groceries and food pantries: The different types of food establishments provide different types of opportunities to be social. For most people, dining out is a social experience; however, when most people eat a restaurant, they do so with people they already know. Rather than using restaurants, grocery stores and food pantries to increase sociability, these establishments could be used to increase revenue flow in South Madison.

Non-commercial dining: Non-commercial dining events have the potential to facilitate bonding between South Madison residents. These events are open to diverse groups of people. Things like community potlucks and South Madison farmers market encourage interaction between different people and promote eating local, healthy foods.  Because these events are open and populated by diverse groups of people, various communities are bridged.  The farmers market and potlucks also broaden the culture and food knowledge of attendees by exposing them to foods prepared by people of varying social and cultural backgrounds. Many of these potlucks are not well publicized and are attended by people “in the know.”  For example, Zuzu Café (by Henry Vilas Zoo) regularly holds open potlucks in which attendees bring a homemade dish to share. I would like to make residents more aware of potlucks like these and potentially create new potlucks. Another event with a great deal of potential is Celebrate South Madison (Celebrate South Madison Facebook Page, 2009). Celebrate South Madison is an initiative that’s working to create a sense of pride in the community. The South Madison Farmer’s Market also has a great deal of potential for bringing different people together and promoting the sales and eating of local products (South Madison Farmer’s Market, 2011). I would like to focus on increasing the attendance at events like the ones mentioned.

I hope to increase South Madison’s cohesiveness through a platform revolving around food. I hope to increase sociability of the segmented enclaves through the shared value of food, promote health from eating local and fresh food and to better South Madison’s economy by increasing revenue flow in local food related establishments.

Works Cited

Madison, WI Quick Facts. U.S. Census Bureau, 18 Oct. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/55/5548000.html.

Planning for Community Food Systems 590. “Community Food Assessment: Prepared for Park Street Partners & South Metropolitan Planning Council”. University of Wisconsin, Madison: May 2006.

Putnam, Robert. “Bowling Alone: The collapse and revival of American community.”   New York: Simon& Schuster, 2000.

South Madison Farmer’s Market. 2011. Web. 16 November.  http://www.southmadisonfarmersmarket.com/

YMCA of Dane County. “Strengthening Our Community.” Fall 2011. Web 21 November 2011.

Project Proposal

South Madison is a vibrant multicultural community of segmented groups of people.  While these individual groups have rich cultural heritage, they are fragmented and lack a relationship and cohesive South Madison identity. Furthermore, South Madison is known as a crime-ridden and poverty-stricken region, which contributes to the areas low morale and unfavorable identity. I plan to make the world a better place by bonding the segmented groups of South Madison. The overall goal of bonding the separate groups will be to create a functional, singular system. A more cohesive community will encourage different groups to appreciate the cultures of their neighbors, which will lead to lower crime rates, increased economic stability and a better South Madison image.

I will bond South Madison groups through food; food is a shared value across cultures that often holds cultural and heritage significance and is used as a tool to bring people together. I will better South Madison by creating events and spaces where South Madison residence can enjoy food together, share food and learn about healthy, sustainable eating practices.

The following are several ideas I have for bringing segmented people together to enjoy food:

• Taste of South Madison. Different organizations could prepare a dish that means something to them. All participants will come together in a mutual venue to taste everyone’s prepared items for a small fee. Money raised will go towards a South Madison charity or something in the community that everyone can benefit from.
• Healthy eating seminars at the South Madison farmers market.
• I know various groups have potluck dinners about once a month. Different restaurants could host joint potluck dinners.