Changemakers: Food Forest by Buzzi
Hopefully, by now, you’ve heard of BuzziSpace, one of High Point’s coolest and most unique companies. For a full rundown of the company, check out a previous article we wrote about them here! One of the many things that makes BuzziSpace such an inspiration, is their drive to support our community. Through their initiative, Food Forest, BuzziSpace shows off the core values that they live by; engaging and supporting the communities they are in, fostering team spirit, creating an inspirational environment, and designing for stewardship of our world and future generations (And oh yeah, this is just a few of the values you live by!).
Curated by John Stephens, this initiative seeks to help alleviate the food desert in South West High Point, labeled as one of the most severe food deserts in the US by the USDA.
What is a Food Desert you ask? It exists when particularly nutritious food is difficult to obtain due to availability, affordability, distance, or number of procurement points – typically operationalized as supermarkets – in a given area, urban or rural. Keep reading to learn more about what this amazing team is doing to better our community.
Photography by ZoZo Photography
Q. Tell us about Food Forest in about 10 words.
A. A small initiative to help solve the issue of hunger and poor health in America’s Food Deserts.
Q. Why was it started and what was your vision?
A. As part of our core values: to engage the communities that we are in, foster team spirit, create an inspirational environment for our employees, design for stewardship of our world and future generations.
BuzziSpace CEO Tom Van Dessel is shown below holding one of their first strawberries this spring. To learn more about Tom be sure to check out our blog post on him here.
Photography by ZoZo Photography
Q. What is one thing people would be interested to learn about Food Forest?
A. It is 100% curated, led and maintained by BuzziSpace employees. All our plants are native to NC.
Q. Why did you choose to locate Food Forest in High Point?
A. We chose to locate Food Forest on existing BuzziSpace land, which also happens to be in one of the most severe food deserts in America.
Photography by ZoZo Photography
Q. How have the citizens and community of High Point supported you?
A. The community has been very positive. People generally like to see businesses that are active in the community.
Photography by ZoZo Photography
Q. What advice would you give to someone wanting to make a difference in High Point?
A. If you are passionate about it, don’t over analyze, just do it.
Photography by ZoZo Photography
Q. What are you excited about for High Point’s future?
A. There is a good vibe. Lots of construction going on, new places popping up. Early signs and makings of a vibrant community!
Having the chance to chat with BuzziSpace about their initiative was simply amazing! We love their vision and we hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about how High Point’s citizens are dedicated to the growth and wellness of this great city we call home!
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