Rhonda Vesey, known as “Aunt Rhonda,” created a successful grassroots campaign
The story of Rhonda Vesey, who stopped at nothing to bring a grocery store to a Syracuse, New York, food desert, proves that sometimes it takes community leadership to get what’s needed in their own neighborhoods, Syracuse.com reported.
Vesey said she was “knocking on everybody’s doors,” leaning on her impressive rolodex of contacts, including the plaza owner, Ellicott Development, founded by former New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. She spent five years emailing, calling, and visiting grocery store operators across the Northeast, even hounding local, state, and federal elected officials to support the cause.
“Having the title in Syracuse, New York, of being the most impoverished in the nation is an ugly title. And that’s another reason, I’m going to keep running.”
But thanks to Black women like Aunt Rhonda, who have embraced the challenge of creating reliable food options, things may start to turn around. “We don’t want to see a store leave us again,” she said.
“It can’t happen.”
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Source: Black Enterprise
