An area that was previously deemed a food desert by the US Department of Agriculture will soon accommodate what has the potential to be one of the most innovative inner-city food access projects in the country.

An initiative of BBC, the Bistro at Bridgeport Place will soon afford families in the Kinsman neighborhood and throughout the Cleveland area access to fresh, wholesome, and nutritious foods, right in their own community.

The project will address a substantial lack of access to healthy foods with a three-prong approach:

- In a neighborhood with no other options besides fast food, a bistro-style restaurant will offer a wide array of healthy sandwiches and wraps, salads, soups, and baked goods will open at Bridgeport Place, adjacent to BBC’s office.  Fruits, vegetables, and herbs grown locally by market gardeners in the Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone and other locations in the neighborhood will be available for purchase.

- The Bistro will also accommodate a community kitchen, which will host at least fifty cooking classes and demonstrations each year for residents to learn how to cook healthy meals.  The community kitchen will also allow space for urban agriculture entrepreneurs to clean, prepare, and package their produce for sales and distribution.

- Lastly, a mobile market will enable for locally grown fruits and vegetables to be delivered to households both within the community and other Cleveland neighborhoods, as well as remain stationary in key locations and events and vend produce directly from the vehicle.  The mobile market will be especially effective in areas in which a grocery store is not in proximity and will alleviate travel burdens for households without automobiles, individuals with disabilities, and large families that may be headed by a single parent.

BBC’s concept received funding from the US Department of Health and Human Services, with support from the Sisters of Charity Foundation.  The Bistro at Bridgeport Place is scheduled to open in late spring or early summer of 2012.

The Bistro at Bridgeport was recently featured in a Cleveland Plain Dealer article, which can be accessed here.