FRESH HOUWSE GROCERY FIGHTS FOOD DESERT IN SUNNYSIDE

By Aswad Walker

As individuals, Jeremy Peaches and Ivy Walls are both forces to be reckoned with. Together, they are darn near unstoppable. Te two entrepreneur/activists each have thriving businesses of their own, but were brought together by a like-minded love of their community and passion for fresh foods grown by Black farmers.

Enter Fresh Houwes Grocery, the pair’s vehicle of resistance from the food desert reality that undermines the holistic health of Peaches’ and Walls’ beloved Sunnyside. Te store, located in the heart of Sunnyside (5039 Reed Rd., Houston, TX 77033), ofers organic fruits, vegetables and much more, all produced by Black farmers, ranchers and entrepreneurs.

Frank E. Burrell, now a regular Fresh Houwse customer, appreciates the multiple opportunities the place afords shoppers.

“Te frst time I walked in, a young lady explained to me who she was and where the vegetables were coming from, and they look great,” said Burrell. “Plus, we need to support our own businesses. We’ve been growing vegetables just as long as anybody else.”

Tough Peaches and Walls are alums of Prairie View A&M University, the two didn’t meet until later, discovering their shared passion for Black farming and for delivering fresh foods to Black communities.

Te Defender spoke with the two modern-day heroes about how their work together over the years led to the opening of Fresh Houwse Grocery.

DEFENDER: What was the impetus behind Fresh Houwse Grocery?

PEACHES: Fresh Houwse Grocery actually started because in 2021, UH came out with a study that in certain neighborhoods the gastrointestinal levels of individuals and the nutrient levels of lettuce and diferent foods in certain neighborhoods were poor quality and it was causing gastrointestinal issues. But at the end of that UH study, a year-long study during COVID, they didn’t necessarily have a solution for it. So, Ivy and I, we both grew up in Sunnyside. We both were already doing Black Farmer Boxes. And we felt like this may be another opportunity and outlet to provide access for our community. So, we got right in. We fundraise a certain amount of money to get the grocery store going. It was really a community efort, and it’s been great. It’s almost like reciprocity, like we’re giving back, providing solutions to problems.

DEFENDER: What is this Black Farmers Box that helped birth the grocery store?

PEACHES: So, Black Farmer Box is a

About

Ivy Walls is the owner and operator of Ivy Leaf Farms. The farm is dedicated to neighborhood beautifcation while creating sustainable food sources for Sunnyside, Houston Texas

Jeremy Peaches is owner and operator of Fresh Life Organic Produce Co. & Agricultural Consulting Firm. He specializes in aquaponics, hydroponics and traditional soil farming.

Website: www.blackfarmerbox. com/fresh-houwse-grocery weekly subscription box curated from local farmers, product makers and entrepreneurs. It has a meat, bread, two eggs, a protein, and also a hard item that changes every week. You can buy this box online or you can come in the store. Black Farmer Box came in because during the pandemic, usually the farmers, especially African-American farmers, get paid only a tenth of what a product may cost in a store. Also, our farmers were really going through it during COVID, with farmers markets shutting down, climate change issues with the heat and prices of things skyrocketing. Since we were farmers ourselves, we felt like we should put something together for us and our fellow farmer and rancher friends. It started with about 10 boxes. Now, we probably have distributed thousands of them.

Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m. -1 p.m.

DEFENDER: Where did your love of food, gardening, farming come from?

WALLS: I come from a large, agricultural family. My dad has 17 brothers and sisters and they’re all about sustenance. Te way they grew up is they had to know how to hunt, fsh, harvest, and things like that. And that’s just embedded in me.

PEACHES: My real last name is Peaches. So, I was doing research, and realized farming was already in me. Like, even how my family got their last name on my grandfather’s side. On my grandmother’s side, they were Choctaw Indian. Tey grew up on the reservation. So, we always had this connection to the land. But my grandfather, and even generations before that, they worked on one of the largest peach plantations in Orchard. So, it’s like in my blood. But I didn’t really realize that until later on in life, even with having the last name Peaches. I actually went to college at PVAMU for agriculture. I interned for the USDA and forest service. I always trained and rode horses around Houston. I always had a love and passion for plants and animals. So, it was just something that I love to do that eventually it turned into me wanting to do it for my community.

DEFENDER: Where do you see Fresh Houwse Grocery in the next fve, 10 years?

WALLS: I see us in a supermarket space. I see this being a fagship and education space. I see us having multiple locations around Houston. And I see us setting citywide plans for urban agriculture in other major cities.