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Please read articles on our previously featured alumni

Malaika Edwards' Fields of Greens in Oakland

In November of 2001 Malaika Edwards (Class of '93) and her friends, Brahm Ahmadi and Leander Sellers, decided to do something about the lack of access to affordable healthy food for lower income residents in West Oakland, California.  Noticing that the community had dozens of fast-food chains but only one grocery store they came upon the idea of growing their own food and selling it to residents at a price they could afford.

Beginning with an abandoned plot of land in Oakland they brought on volunteers, hired high school students and began raising their own organically grown produce under the name “Peoples Grocery”.  They also created a program called Collards n’ Commerce which aimed to teach students about cooking, nutrition, gardening, and life skills.  To provide greater accessibility Peoples Grocery converted an old mail truck and began driving around West Oakland neighborhoods selling their fresh produce to residents who could previously afford only canned, processed food. 

The response from the community was overwhelming and People’s Grocery added new gardens as well as more programs for adults and younger children to promote the value of eating healthy. After six years as a non-profit organization Peoples Grocery manages 5 plots of land in the Oakland area, a 2 acre farm in Sunol and is about to launch a “Soul Box” program which will provide fresh produce for people paying with food stamps. 

Since its humble beginnings in 2001 Peoples Grocery has literally touched thousands of West Oakland residents by providing an affordable alternative to fast food.  In 2005 Malaika was a recipient of the Jefferson Award, a nationally recognized award for outstanding community and public service.  For more information about Peoples Grocery go to www.peoplesgrocery.org

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Highland Hall Graduate Gets Funding For Malaysia after Tsunami Assault
By Marilyn Kelly

When Highland Hall graduate Justin Kern (class of 2001) traveled through tsunami-ravaged regions of Southern Asia with his college classmates, he was struck by the widespread devastation and the mountains of rubble still remaining as a spectacle of defeat against the forces of nature. The once pristine shoreline was now marked with rows of cement foundations, absent the houses that once stood in the tsunami's path.

 

As an architecture major at USC, Justin was accustomed to visualizing non-existent structures. As a Highland Hall graduate he was prepared to dream big, effect change and put a plan into motion. After surveying the destruction in a Northern Malaysian fishing village, Justin and his friends were given the assignment by his college professor James Steele to build a hypothetical design project that would develop the community back to being the thriving town it once was. "The 30 acre town had nothing left," Justin said.

Together with architecture students at the University of Malaya, Justin master-planned a building project that included housing for displaced residents, a new fishing area and a community center. He built models and took photographs. His design caught the attention of his professor, who suggested he submit it to local Malaysian officials. Within days he found himself presenting his master plan to local representatives of the United Nations.

"That's one thing I gained at Highland Hall - communication skills," Justin said. "Standing in front of people and talking is no problem for me." The UN agents liked that the community center included ample space for plenty of after-school programs for kids. "The design included a park and field area and a large dining hall, which would support the mostly Muslim population that encourages meeting in large groups to share mealtime," Justin said.

With the appropriate accolades, the UN representatives thanked Justin for his design vision and sent him on his way. Justin never expected a call from them a few weeks later. "The UN officials notified us that they had found an investor who wanted to donate $500,000 to build our community center," Justin said. The source of the funding was kept confidential, yet UN representatives said the company was very impressed with Justin's nearly 4,000 square foot structure.

Once the paperwork with the Malaysian government is complete, Justin hopes to return to see the once-desolate land break ground with his project. In the meantime, Justin is focused on finishing his studies at USC while also working on redesigning a portion of the Gulf Coast destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. His Biloxi, Mississippi project includes a new transportation hub designed to reduce vehicular traffic and introduce a trolley system integrated with long-distance trains. "I'm designing for what the city used to be as well as some things that will work well in the future as the population grows more and more," Justin said.

After the 12-week design phase, his professor will present it to Mississippi government officials. Justin will graduate from USC this spring and has already been offered a position at the Landry Design Group in Los Angeles, where he has advanced from intern to part-time project design team member in the three years he has been there. Justin feels his Highland Hall experience has served him well. "It never occurred to me that students would not feel comfortable talking to their professors," Justin said referring to the open dialogue he enjoyed with his teachers in high school. "I also felt it was easier to articulate and express myself in writing than it was for some of my college classmates." He added, "Although, my punctuation is not so great." Justin has sent letters of interest to many architectural firms across the United States. He said that wherever he ends up working after graduation, he will apply what he learned about recovery during his three-month stay in Asia as well as further his goal of being a visionary architect at home as well as overseas.

 

Nourishing spirit: Ben Ford has a new Culver City restaurant that he hopes will make you feel at home

Please excuse Ben Ford if he's still shaking off some jet lag. Since last June, the 39-year-old has been refining the concept for his muchanticipated Ford's Filling Station in downtown Culver City-by flying back and forth to Tulsa, Oklahoma. But wait a minute. Why would a hot culinary entrepreneur-one who trained under Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, won three-star kudos at his now-shuttered Chadwick in Beverly Hills, and carries Hollywood appeal (he's Harrison Ford's son)-test a concept in Oklahoma before bringing it to L.A., trend central? "I've always wanted to have a restaurant someplace that was real and approachable and human," Ford says. He was drawn to Culver City, a resurgent Westside community just south of Beverly Hills, settling on a vintage 1930s building as his site. Only then did he head for Tulsa. which has a similar demographic in terms of breadth of tastes. Ford aims to serve "soulful meals centered around simple ingredients," like split-pea soup with ham hock, smoked pork chops with braised cabbage, and flatbread made in a wood-burning oven. And he has strived to make the place feel like a gathering spot that's been around a good long time. The walls will be decorated with family photos. And he's leaving 30 seats permanently unreserved. "People can play chess, order a drink, read a newspaper. I've built this restaurant to about 80 percent of what I want it to be. Then I'm going to let the people dictate the rest." -N.K. Sunset Magazine February 2006

Ford's Filling Station (call for hours; 9531 Culver Blvd., Culver City; 310/202-1470)

 

Changing the World One Step at a Time

At the age of 12, Michele Bissonnette Robbins took up gymnastics and was soon training 20 hours weekly and participating in meets around the world. Michele's ardent passion for gymnastics lasted for six years, and took her to Romania to study with world-renowned gymnast Nadia Comaneci. Joining Highland Hall in the seventh grade, Michele graduated from Highland Hall in 1993 at the top of her class.

After high school, Michele joined Volunteers For Peace and spent three months in Russia. She became deeply inspired by the potential for humans to live in harmony and saddened by the hunger and violence that is prevalent in many countries. In the fall of 1994, Michele joined YES!, an oganization dedicated to empowering young people around the world for positive change. Since becoming the organization's Executive Director in 1997, Michele has held more than 73 week-long events for young leaders from over 45 nations, distributed tens of thousands of its books and action guides, spoken in person to more than 620,000 students in school assemblies and inspired the formation of hundreds of non-profit clubs and organizations working for social justice, peace, human rights and environmental conciousness.

More information about YES! may be found at www.yesworld.org