I went to JP Centre / South Main Streets on February 23rd. I learned some new things about small businesses in Jamaica Plain. I heard that most small stores connect neighbors as a community. For example, City Feed and Supply is a grocery store that has a donation refrigerator out of the store. There were some vegetables, but I seemed like rotten ones. Next to the fridge, there were some separated and sorted garbage boxes. They promote recycling of Paper + Cardboard, Commingled Containers, Plastic Bottles, Tubs, Jugs + Jars. And also, there was a storage of vegetable peels or some leftover for compost. This store is also a “fair trade organic expresso.” My friend bought fair-trading chocolate. It can contribute to some cacao production countries. Like this, there were many connections with the community, even if one store.
I heard a story from other students in the class. A chocolate or coffee store grows cacao near the store. They do not import cacao beans from other cacao countries. This merit is to reduce gas and carbon dioxide by not using airplanes. It means that it can be done with a minimum of gas. It was an interesting point. After the tour, I asked Ginger some questions related to my topic. I wondered whether the stores closed. Of course, most of the stores closed. But some stores are called necessities stores like hospitals and grocery stores. And also, I asked whether there were any problems during the lockdown. She nodded yes. When the store closed, the owner had to pay rent every month. It was so hard because they did not have income at all. And I also asked about her benefits from the U.S government. I found it on the internet that the government gave restaurants and store owners money. But it was different in reality. They got it just a few months. It was not enough for them. I think it was a challenging situation because these are small stores. After the tour, I want to know the struggle things per store because of COVID-19. For example, Ginger’s husband runs a bakery, and he was in trouble due to a lack of dairy products. I recommend that anyone learn Sustainable Cities and Communities, number 11.
Kurumi Kawabe 3
