I just saw today’s headline for the Huffington Post: DETROIT UNEMPLOYMENT NEARS 50%

My Backstory and Diatribe

I’m from Detroit.  And this is absolutely unconscionable.  Pardon me while I get on my jingo soapbox, but we’re the United States of America and we are better than this.  I am appalled to think that we can’t do any better than this, and provide our citizens with some more opportunity.  And by we I don’t mean the government.  Companies, as corporate citizens, have an obligation to society that extends beyond profit.  It’s because of We the People that you’re allowed to do business in America.  And with that privilege comes a social responsibility.  You’re telling me half of Detroit is unemployable?  I lived there all my life, and yes – it is tough.  Opportunity is scarce.  But we live in a digital age, where anyone with a computer and some ingenuity can connect to someone who needs workers.  Sigh.

The Case for Raw Foods As Good Business

Now for my idea.  I live in Venice, California.  Everyone here loves raw foods.  It’s pretty ridiculous.  A 2 ounce (1/8th of a pound) bag of raw spinach coated with cheddar cheese goes for $5!  Raw cashews go for $20 a pound.  It’s beyond crazy.  But what’s even crazier is that people are BUYING these things.  Now – I had Chanukah dinner at a new friend’s home, and a woman who joined us eats raw.  She makes it herself, and my God was it amazing!  It really does taste incredible, and apparently when you make it at home it’s very inexpensive.  Sounds like a value-add opportunity.

So…

My Case for A New Enterprise

Business is all about connecting supply with demand.  There’s an enormous demand here in Southern California for raw, organic foods.  They’re expensive as hell.  But they’re flying off the shelves.  What does Michigan have that Southern California doesn’t?  Well, lot’s of things.  Let’s turn to Wikipedia and see what they say about this:  “A wide variety of commodity crops, fruits, and vegetables are grown in Michigan, making it second only to California among U.S. states in the diversity of its agriculture.^[54] Michigan is a leading grower of fruit, including blueberries, cherries, apples, grapes, and peaches.” It goes on – “Michigan is home to very fertile land in the Flint/Tri-Cities and “Thumb” areas. Products grown there are corn, sugar beets, navy beans, and soy beans.” So there’s all kinds of opportunities for growth here.  Michigan’s got a great agriculture base.

Prognosis:

It’s time to turn that agricultural base “raw”.  And it’s time to bring it to Detroit.

I know.  It’s very counter-intuitive.  Detroit, once the booming industrial giant of America, now turns to… agriculture?  But look.  People are buying raw more than ever.  Michigan’s got a great climate for foods local to the area.  And we’ve got vast swaths of a major city rotting away due to the most pervasive unemployment this country has seen since the Great Depression.

Call for Enterprise:  Detroit Raw Foods

So my idea is for a new company.  The name is Detroit Raw Foods.  The domain name is available:  http://www.detroitrawfoods.com.  And you take a vacant warehouse, you convert it to a food production facility, and then you hire Detroiters to make raw food right there in the middle of the dark, industrial city.  It doesn’t take a college degree to bake a Michigan flax-seed cherry cracker, but I sure know some consumers in Whole Foods who would love to buy it.

Acknowledging the Downside

Ah, but what about the local movement?  The trend is to buy local.  And you’re right.  We should focus on selling Detroit Raw Foods locally.  But ultimately this is a social enterprise.  This is about giving people in Detroit jobs just as we’re providing people with healthy food options.  And so you build this fact into the marketing strategy.  You’re employing people in need and rebuilding a community that is right now facing sheer devastation.  And it’s true – shipping Detroit Raw Foods to California isn’t great for the environment.  But – aha – what if we could ship it on Trucks running on Biodiesel?  The point is, there are solutions to problems.  And besides, it’s the job of the entrepreneur to figure it out.  So…

Gut Check Time

Detroit Raw Foods.  Will a shining social entrepreneur with some capital and some guts stand up and make this happen?