You won't find hamburgers and hot dogs at this market, only fresh produce and an army of researchers ready to show you how to prepare a healthy meal.
Fed up with advising residents of north St. Louis to eat better yet knowing they don't have the resources to do it, religious leaders have joined with business people and St. Louis University researchers to open the Garden of Eden, a produce market in the basement of Union Memorial United Methodist Church.
The market opened last year with a grant of nearly $500,000 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was designed to offer the low- and middle-income community a healthy alternative to fast food by providing fresh produce at low prices, along with help preparing it. Now many look to the market to provide jobs and bring the community together in a common cause.
"It's one thing to tell people to eat better, and it's another thing to tell them to eat better and we're going to provide you with some resources to do that," says Orvin Kimbrough, executive director of the Interfaith Partnership of Metropolitan St. Louis, which helped open the market.
The CDC grant funding the Garden of Eden is among 25 awarded to communities across the country to promote locally based solutions to health problems. Other communities are addressing drug and alcohol abuse, asthma and suicide prevention.
Studies show that while 23 percent of Americans are overweight, the obesity rate for blacks is among the highest at 30 percent. St. Louis University researchers hope to improve that rate among urban blacks by giving them the food and recipes they need to eat better.
For example, supermarkets often cut their produce if it doesn't sell before it spoils - a concern considering the cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other illnesses that could be addressed with a better diet, says Beth Baker, associate professor of community health at St. Louis University. In north St. Louis, supermarkets have virtually left the area altogether, she says.
"Grocery stores are leaving the area, and fast-food restaurants are maintaining or even growing," she says. "It makes it so that individuals who want to make changes don't have access to do so."
At the Garden of Eden, shoppers browse in an atmosphere reminiscent of a farmer's market. Researchers give nutritional guidance and survey shoppers on their eating habits. Other workers, both staff and volunteer, show how to prepare healthy meals, give samples and offer recipes. Teens bag groceries, earning gift certificates to the local mall.
The greens are most popular, says Rose Goodrum, 72, who has worked at the market since it opened.
"They marvel over our greens. Our vegetables they say are first-rate, better than Dierbergs or Schnuks," she says, referring to other local supermarkets.
Besides the CDC and St. Louis University, the market is supported by Union Memorial United Methodist Church, the Interfaith Partnership and three other churches. Owners of other local supermarkets have helped train the staff, teaching how to select good produce and organize displays. One supermarket owner invited the staff to shadow him at his job.
The Rev. Lynn Mims, pastor of Union Memorial, says the church got involved because the effort was a solution to "organizations (that) come into poor communities ... and do research and never leave anything behind."
Researchers plan to present what they learn from the Garden of Eden at a community forum with local health and minority leaders, politicians and urban planners, Baker says. They also will use their surveys to keep tabs on the community's eating habits over time.
The goal is to inspire the community to work together toward improvement, she says.
"We're building community relations and doing community development so people begin to feel more connected to their community," she says.
Goodrum says she sees it happening already. The teens who work at the market are learning manners and job skills, and shoppers are enjoying more healthy food, she says.
The Garden of Eden, open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, draws about 50 shoppers a week. Organizers hope eventually to expand to other locations and address the same issues throughout St. Louis.
"You're providing job skills," says Jennifer Strayhorn, who helps run the market. "You're providing communication skills. You're providing nutrition. And you're networking congregations across the community. So it's really, really exciting.''
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