I attended to Jamaica Plain small business trip and went to Bakery, grocery store, cacao shop, toy store, cafe, and consignment store on February 23th, 2022. Mr. Ginger introduced her organization and small businesses in Jamaica Plain to us. I was surprised to know that the employee of the organization is only her. She supports the community and neighborhood. The bakery is her husband’s business and he started it 18 years ago. He had only 4 employees. He tries to use ingredients that are from local for his products. She said a lot of people are trying to buy products or ingredients are from the locals in the JP area. Also, some stores are splitting one piece of land between several stores because the land is expensive. I think this kind of initiative is a very good way for this region to continue to thrive for a long time.
There were many local foods were sold in the grocery store. Everything is local from farms in Massachusetts and from fair trade. I found honey from bees in Jamaica Plain. Their profit is the smallest because the price is so high, so it is difficult to buy. Also, there was a refrigerator that neighbors can donate food that they do not need for people who cannot afford to buy food. It was my first time seeing a fridge like that, so it was very interesting for me. I think this is effective to help people who need support but some people leave their gavage in the ridge or some people who can buy food themselves take food with them. This is very sad, and I want them to think more deeply about the hardships of poverty.
I visited not only food shops but also a clothing store. It was DVSTY which is a consignment store. I learned consignment store means a thrift store. DVSTY means diversity. I heard they donate some money. I think this way helps to encourage customers to store at their stores because they can help someone else by shopping.
This trip was very interesting for me because I was able to learn a lot about different businesses.
Runa Sakata