Jetta’s Gourmet Popcorn

From page A-5

“Situations like having to bury my firstborn grandchild who died weeks after being born, then years later going through divorce after 26 years of marriage, just to name a few,” said Barbee. “It was then in 2016 that I really began to dig my heels into Jetta’s Gourmet Popcorn, again giving my all to pursuing my dream.”

Barbee decided to answer what she believes is her calling by converting her mobile truck into an offshoot specializing in popcorn and soon Jetta’s Gourmet Popcorn was born.

The most popular popcorn flavor at the time was Barbee’s version of kettle corn “with all the sticky goodness.” The product line offers five “D” mixes labeled East Side and West Side to drum up more orders by playfully drawing on community rivalry when she’s selling at sporting games.

A year later, Barbee opened an inline store at the now closed Eastland Mall in Harper Woods but quickly had to close due to the mall’s decline in foot traffic. She pivoted to focusing on pop-up events to reach more customers and now has a regular stand in Huntington Place where she is available at major events.

Barbee’s caramel-based line is her signature flavor, making up over 50 percent of her product line. The caramel is made the old-fashioned way by baking the caramel in the oven and painstakingly turning it over and stirring it manually.

“It’s in all the mixes plus the various types of caramels you can purchase from the chocolate to the pecans, so I produce a lot of caramel,” said Barbee. “The next thing I need is to upgrade

Economic Comeback

From page A-5 completion on the academic side.”

Sherard-Freeman has led the charge with a portfolio which oversees new employers setting up shop in the city, from Amazon’s distribution center expected to add 1,200 jobs, to the Detroit at Work program connecting Detroiters to training and open jobs in construction/skills trade, health care, information technology and a variety of other fields.

And as much as city officials seem to be pushing every effort and policy to get Detroiters involved and trained for jobs, it just might not be enough.

“There is still a concern [about] folks who are legacy Detroiters, have the skillset for the job that we talk about, are going to be a part of Detroit’s economic impact,” said Portia Roberson, the machinery where I can make bigger batches, and quicker, to fulfill my customer’s demands.”

Last December, Barbee entered and won the 2022 Samuel Adams “Brewing the American Dream & Build Institute Pitch Room Competition.” Beating out five other Detroit-based food and drink companies, Barbee received a $10,000 business grant to expedite her caramel-making process and expand her business into a brick and mortar.

Barbee is also a teacher at Denby High School’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. She created a curriculum on entrepreneurship and business to encourage younger people to pursue their dreams no matter where they come from and to start at any age.

The guidance she provides to her students and other people interested in starting their own business is simple: fulfill your purpose.

“It really is about just sticking to it and staying in focus despite the ups and downs that you’ll go through,” said Barbee. “And there’s been a lot, a lot of tears and laughter and joy and all of the emotions you can think of because being an entrepreneur, you put everything at risk…financially and emotionally. You’ve got to be able to endure that process and know that you are fulfilling a purpose.

“For me, it’s just living that dream that keeps me coming back, the visions of what I want to see keep me coming back and it won’t let you rest so you know what you’re supposed to be doing.”

You can check out Jetta’s Gourmet Popcorn’s menu selection for online orders and delivery at jettasgourmetpopcorn.com.

CEO of Focus: HOPE, a Detroit based non-profit, aiming to overcome racism and poverty by providing education and job training.

“We are always concerned about whether the students we receive from DPSCD have the ability to come into a program like ours and immediately start training to get a certain certificate or skill.”

Roberson states her organization devotes a considerable amount of time getting students up to par on basics.

“I’m a strong proponent that it starts with education and it being the pathway and fundamental part of the workforce,” she says. “We have to look at systemic issues [housing banks loans] and I’m not sure if that’s the city’s role, but if we’re not involved in talking about those issues as well, you’re definitely not going to see the resurgence that you desperately want to see.”

I have my mother’s eyes.

Do I share her heart disease?

Black History

February 8-14, 2023 q 50 years of age or older q Cancer q Chronic kidney disease q Chronic liver disease q Chronic lung diseases q Cystic fibrosis q Dementia or other neurological conditions q Diabetes (type 1 or type 2) q Disabilities q Heart conditions q HIV infection q Immunocompromised condition or weakened immune system q Mental health conditions q Overweight and obesity q Physical inactivity q Pregnancy q Sickle cell disease or thalassemia q Smoker, current or former q Solid organ or blood stem cell transplant q Stroke or cerebrovascular disease q Substance use disorders q Tuberculosis

February 8: The Orangeburg Massacre occurred on the night of February 8, 1968, when a civil rights protest at South Carolina State University (SC State) turned deadly after highway patrolmen opened fire on about 200 unarmed black student protestors. Three young men were shot and killed, and 28 people were wounded.

February 9: Accomplished poet, novelist and playwright, Paul Laurence Dunbar died of tuberculosis on February 9, 1906, at the young age of 33.

February 10: On February 10, 1964, the United States House of Representatives passed The Civil Rights Act of 1964 after 70 days of debate.

February 11: On February 11, 1990, African National Congress leader and future South African President Nelson Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison after being held for 27 years.

February 12: President Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation, was born.

February 13: Black Love Day. Founded in 1993, the day is a 24-hour celebration and display of things tied to Black love, whether familial or romantic.

February 14: African American abolitionist, author, and orator Frederick Douglass was born.

The list above does not include all possible conditions that put you at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Learn more at CDC.gov.

When it comes to severe illness from COVID-19,