Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Incorporated (BBC) is a non-profit neighborhood development organization founded in 1990 that serves Cleveland’s Central, Kinsman, and Garden Valley neighborhoods (Ward 5). BBC’s mission is to empower citizens and revitalize blighted and underserved communities.
 
BBC used HFFI financing to support The Bridgeport Market, Café & Community Kitchen (MC2) initiatives in Cleveland, Ohio. Through the development of a market, café, and community kitchen, this project will create sustainable employment and business opportunities, improve access to healthy affordable foods, and promote education. The community kitchen includes a training area for cooking classes and health literacy classes for adults and youth, as well as a facility that allows local farmers and gardeners to prepare and package food. The MC2 food hub will hire and train up to 64 low-income people from the community.
 
Projected Impacts

• Created Bridgeport Café, a healthy alternative to traditional fast-food establishments that includes local sourcing, a produce market, and a mobile market
• Created CornUcopia Place, a community kitchen to host cooking demonstrations and offer the harvest preparation facility to up to 15 neighborhood market gardeners at a time
• Spearheaded development of Cleveland’s Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone and secured Green City Growers Hydroponic Greenhouse

 
Source of money: HFFI CED Program; Fiscal year(s): 2011