A Visit to Indianola

One of the projects the Institute for Community-Based Research is working on is an assessment of the food systems throughout the Mississippi Delta. JR (Brother Love) and I are working on the initial research and reporting of this project on two levels: JR on the macro level and me on the micro level. JR will perform a general assessment collecting data from the 12 counties in the Delta while my research will be more pointed -- focussing specifically on the city of Cleveland. The two of us, however, have found so much interest in local food, local markets, and their advocates that we decided to work together during interviews, surveys, and focus groups. The last two weeks have been spent laying much of the groundwork for this assessment. Surveys, interview questions, and focus group preparations have consumed most of my workdays. Friday, however, brought about some of the first relationship-building, roll-your-sleeves-up, grassroots kind of research we were anticipating. After a coffee and a granola bar JR and I headed out to Indianola for our first interview. There we met with Kate, a project director at the Indianola Chamber of Commerce, and Maggie, the Indianola Farmers' Market manager. The interview went well and was followed by a pleasant exchange of ideas and encouragement. Back in the car JR and I both noted the amazing dynamic in the room and the potential that it had if harnessed and exported. We also noted that that same dynamic was probably noted by Kate and Maggie as well. So there you have it -- a meeting on an 80 degree, Mississippi Friday morning between blacks & whites, men & women, political conservatives & liberals (guess which one was me!?!), Mississippi natives & newcomers -- engaging in grassroots work to increase social and economic access and foster advancement.



*** On a side trip, JR & I visited the BB King Museum which just opened in Indianola. The museum's home is the former site of the cotton gin where BB once worked. Unbeknownst to me, JR is a huge BB fan and attended the museum opening the week before. This weeks pics are from that site. Enjoy!