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In this episode, Messellech “Selley” Abebe chats with Dr. Emil L. Cunningham and Eunice Na about the Pratt Free Market, a free grocery store inside the Enoch Pratt Free Library that is helping Baltimore families access food with dignity. Dr. Cunningham is the executive director of the library’s Office of Equity and Fair Practice, and Na coordinates the day-to-day operations of the market. Together, they discuss how libraries are expanding beyond books to meet basic needs, why food access is critical for children’s well-being and learning, and how trusted public spaces can play a powerful role in supporting families facing food insecurity. 

To learn more about the Pratt Free Market, you can visit the Enoch Pratt Free Library website.

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Transcript

Speaker 1  0:01  

What if your local library could feed both your mind and your family? Hey, ambassadors, welcome back to speaking of kids. Seli here, this episode today is a mind bender, a true delight to bring to you. Today, we’re talking about what happens when an institution built for knowledge becomes a place that also nourishes the body. This idea is so special that I really want everyone to catch how genius This is. Across the country, families are struggling to put food on the table at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, there is a grocery store inside the library, where everything, everything in the store, is absolutely free. It’s called the PRAT free market, and it’s changing how communities think about hunger and what a library can be today, you’ll hear from Dr Cunningham, who oversees the Office of Equity and fair practice at the library and Eunice na program coordinator for the Office of Equity and fair practice and one of the market’s day to day leaders together, they detail how the Enoch Pratt Free Library turned an idea, a simple idea, really, but a crazy good one, into something that feels both radical and completely natural that a library can not only provide knowledge and inspiration, but the things that are preconditions for attaining knowledge and capturing imagination, because they know you simply can’t leverage information if your basic needs aren’t met. Welcome. Dr Cunningham, welcome Eunice. Thank you so much for taking the time to be on speaking of kids today,

Speaker 2  1:44  

thank you. Thank you for having us. Thanks. Glad to be here.

Speaker 1  1:48  

Yeah. So Dr Cunningham, for listeners who are just hearing now for the first time about Pratt free market, can you share a little bit about who you are, how you, you know, found yourself doing this work,

Speaker 3  2:03  

yeah, so it’s interesting, right? A bit about who I am. I serve as the Executive Director for the Office of Equity and fair practice here at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, and how I found myself here is really, by happenstance, an opportunity to serve alongside some really fantastic colleagues sort of presented itself to me, and I was happy to honestly, just sort of take them up on the offer. As far as the market is concerned, I will admit I inherited a really fantastic team. Eunice is part of that team, along with several others, and so the dedicated professionals and individuals who help lead the market, day in and day out are the ones who I really lean on in order to help ensure that we are serving the community.

Speaker 1  2:46  

When Pratt Free market was being conceptualized, how did this concept land at the intersection of libraries and food and community? It’s not often that you see such kind of a place located within a library.

Speaker 3  2:58  

Yeah, and that’s going to be one of the questions I’ll be honest with you that it’s probably better suited for my colleague, Eunice, who has been doing this much longer than me. I think I have some thoughts and some insights on what it means to have this Pratt Free Market situated within a library, and for me, that is really just thinking about the resources that libraries provide. But I’ll let Eunice sort of answer more directly your question. Yeah, well,

Speaker 4  3:24  

it really starts with seeing a need in the community. It was something as simple as seeing a book cart in one of the branches, and that being the precursor for the market that we have now, and also the community fridge network that we are slowly but surely building and creating so really, it was just born out of seeing a real need within communities for a bit of food relief.

Speaker 1  3:52  

Yeah, you know, earlier this season, we interviewed Michael threats, who’s now actually serving as the face and mastermind behind the new Reading Rainbow. And in our conversation before that, he was like the residential librarian of PBS. So he would just kind of travel all across the country and go to libraries. And we talked about, I have three children of my own, and so I love going on like the field trip, the official field trip, to the library. And, you know, I was kind of reminiscing on just how different the libraries looked, but then how similar they felt, that sense of nostalgia, and just how, you know, he was talking about all of the innovation. And so, you know, to this point of today, people still think about libraries as just books. And you know, Eunice, you kind of pulled in the point of really, Libraries also serve a greater purpose for the community. And so you know, for either of you, what does it mean to you personally to see a library also become a place where families like can get groceries for free with no questions asked, right?

Speaker 4  4:56  

Like, yeah, it’s funny, because it. It feels both a bit mind boggling, but also like natural, like all at once. I very much grew up in libraries. It was the first place that my parents took me to as a kid, and so I spent a lot of my time in libraries for tutoring, for I think even like summer camp for late night study sessions. So it is mind boggling to see, you know, turkeys and carrots being offered alongside the Geronimo Stilton books. I loved reading as a kid, being able to be checked out. But in addition to that, like it is natural, because in addition to the late night study sessions. I’ve also gone to libraries for like, tool checkouts, like, I think I’ve went once to borrow a hammer or language learning classes, or I go every year for tax help. And so it makes sense that the library would also offer just another resource that the community needs, and especially right now, when a lot of folks are facing economic hardships, it makes sense that the library would also offer resource in this way to offer, just like a little bit more food relief.

Unknown Speaker  6:09  

Dr Cunningham, did you want to add anything else?

Speaker 3  6:11  

This one, for me, is interesting, right? And the reason why I say it’s interesting is because Eunice and I, and actually a couple others were just talking about sort of how our library is situated right now. And what I have learned, and once again, fairly new in this role, what I have learned is that libraries have sort of emerged and become this space where it is a convening space, it is a community space, it is a gathering space for others. And while I, you know, I have two young children as well. My daughter just turned 13. My son is eight, and so I too, sort of understand the book nature of a library, but realizing sort of really how the Enoch Pratt Free Library is situated within Baltimore City as its community has changed the entire perspective for me, right? Because yes, we have books, but we also have lawyers, we have sort of wellness initiatives in a library. We have service support folks within a library. And so thinking about all the things that we have already been doing, I actually see it really as a natural progression, that this would just be another thing in order to help serve the population. As Eunice noted, right, there was a need. And so there were a dedicated group of individuals who were here much longer and before I was who said that, why not us? Why not us step into this space where the book cars, the community fridges were already sort of need that we were helping to provide a community, why not also do this and try to find a way to help reduce food insecurity across Baltimore City?

Speaker 1  7:34  

I love that for people listening. Eunice, could you describe what the PRAT free market looks like when you walk in?

Speaker 4  7:41  

Well, I think the first thing when you walk in is you’ll just see a group of people, whether it’s staff or volunteers, it’s people who are there to greet you, and we’re essentially brought together with a desire to help you in whatever capacity that means, and I hope that’s the first thing that people see and notice when they walk in through the market doors. And I think second, I hope this the second thing that they see is the large sign in upper cap letters that say everybody eats. Because I think that really is the the ethos of the market. And you know, in addition to all the shelves of food and the hustle and bustle of folks weaving through, I hope folks are able to just feel a bit welcomed when they walk through those doors and know that they truly are here to just be served by us in whatever capacity we can, like I said before

Speaker 1  8:41  

and Eunice, just following up on that. You know, the word free can mean a lot of different things, and so when you say free, what does that mean when we’re framing this market as 100% free judgment, free, all are welcome. What does that look like and present like?

Speaker 4  8:57  

Well, I think it means that we are serving you because we care about community members and their specific needs. It kind of hearkens back to that sign and upper case letters. It means that everybody eats. It means that we don’t care about what you look like, what you sound like when you walk through those doors. We are doing the best to serve you in whatever capacity we can, and it also means that we are working to the best of our abilities to ensure that folks are provided with, at least, again, some sort of food relief. And of course, it means that everything on those shelves are free, free of cost.

Speaker 1  9:34  

You know, when I was reading more about the market, I was reading that a lot of children and teenagers come to the market, you know, even during the school day, sometimes just looking for something to eat. And at first focus, you know, we’re an organization that works on the cross of issues impacting kids, because we recognize that you can’t just treat food insecurity without looking at health outcomes or educational outcomes. So when you’ve. Observe these kids. What have you learned from just watching how they use the space?

Speaker 4  10:05  

I’ve really learned that young people are really just looking for safe spaces that they can just be in without any pressure to spend any money and also compromise their safety.

Selley Looby  10:20  

It’s amazing, right? A place that used to be just for quiet reading is now one of the loudest, warmest, most inclusive rooms in the city, but turning a library into a grocery store week after week takes resources, partnerships and a lot of heart. So after the break, Dr Cunningham and Eunice, pull back the curtain on what it really takes to keep the shelves stocked and the spirit of everybody eats alive.

Speaker 1  10:51  

Welcome back, ambassadors. Before the break, we heard how the PRAT free market grew from one simple idea that a library could feed its community. So I asked Dr Cunningham and Eunice what it really takes to make that vision work week after week, not just the food, but the funding, the partnerships and the trust, when I just kind of think of this market and again, like I follow you on Instagram, so I’ve seen the visuals. Where do the items come from like It looks like an actual grocery store. What does it take to keep the shelves full week after week, and especially as demands change? I mean, you’re located in Baltimore, but I mean, you get hit with the brunt of what goes on, you know, as it relates to government furloughs, to, you know, layoffs, to just the broader economic pressures of what happens across the DC metropolitan area? What does that look like week after week to keep these shelves full, and where does it come from?

Speaker 3  11:49  

Yeah, I can probably lean in on this one. Realistically, a lot of our food is sourced from the Maryland Food Bank, and we have a great partnership with them. And then from then, we’ve also been able to tap into some local farms across the state of Maryland, as well as even some folks across the sort of state lines in Pennsylvania as well. And so we do our best to ensure that we are providing sort of that full shelf experience that you would see we are sourcing through the farms and saying, like, Hey, listen what whatever you have, will certainly give it out. We are partnering with local businesses who are reaching out to us and saying that they want to offer some free food and services. Sometimes they are going out and shopping and bringing that food to us as well. We have some local sort of big box partners that we’re reaching out to, but a lot of it is just constantly, constantly, constantly trying to identify what those resources are. So that way we can maintain the stocking of the shelves and people get that experience as if they’re going to a genuine supermarket,

Speaker 1  12:50  

oftentimes, just people that are just living right. We’re not thinking about how such kind of public benefits are funded. Can you share with our audience, how the library at large is funded, or at least by default, how this market is funded. If you can kind of take a ballpark of, you know, federal dollars, state dollars, local money, a portion that comes in from philanthropy or corporate partnerships, what’s the general makeup of a budget to sustain such kind of an entity,

Speaker 3  13:22  

yeah, so I’ll be honest. I’m not even going to try to pretend to say that I understand the full budget of the library, right? That’s for our colleagues in the finance office and the business office to lean in on. I know the budget that was sort of provided for the pride free market. I believe a good portion of it is designated from our trustees, who also see the value in this as well. Most recently, however, a lot of the things that we have been able to provide to the community, honestly have been through the dedicated resources and support from our partners, and so we are able to access a good portion of our food from Maryland Food Bank at cost, which was no cost to us, actually. And then recently, with the some funds that they received, given the need to support some of the federal employees who were laid off by Governor West, more they were actually able to cover a lot of the stuff that we were ordering. And so that has really helped us out. There was an additional grant that we were able to acquire that’s allowing us then to ensure we’re able to get some additional food throughout the rest of this calendar year, and then we have a fantastic team within our institution of advancement who is putting out sort of petitions to our colleagues, corporate partners and others across the city and across the state to identify some additional funds in order to help ensure that we’re able to sustain this we recently had a one of those things pulled through, and I forget the name of it right now, but that will allow us to help support our community. Fridges spread out across Baltimore City, and so it is a mixture of funds, right? Some of it is being carved out from the library’s board and library leadership in order to help ensure. Where they were able to sustain this, a lot of it also, then is just through the great benefit of being a good partner with Maryland Food Bank. Then others are just sort of our colleagues and advancement and other people across the city who are giving sort of 1015, $20 sometimes 100 if they have more, in order to help ensure that we are able to serve our community. In this regard,

Speaker 1  15:21  

I love that, because oftentimes, too, when we’re thinking of the ecosystem of what it takes to support a community, it is through partnership. And I’ve done work with the Maryland food bank. They do excellent work, and obviously, right, like everyone can use more resources, but the fact that they are a strong entity and a hub to kind of trickle down and partner and provide such kind of support that we know is actually touching and meeting the community where they are that’s powerful in itself.

Speaker 3  15:50  

Yeah, I agree. And honestly, when they put us in contact with some of the local farms out here, right, we have this one partner who we’re like, what does it cost for delivery, what does it cost for food? And they were like, everything’s free. We’re like, say that again. Are you sure everything is free? They’re like, yeah, yeah, everything’s free, and you’ll deliver it to us. They said, Yeah. I was like, Listen, you ain’t saying none but a word. Thank you so much. How can we ensure that we are in your rotation? And it’s just a blessing, honestly, to be able to provide that and other partners who are part of the farm industry that we reach out to. Yes, we have to pay, but they’re giving us reduced costs because they see the need. It’s amazing how much the community really rallies around these sorts of initiatives,

Speaker 1  16:29  

changing gears a little bit. A lot of families feel shame or fear around asking for help, especially as it relates to, you know, food and household needs. What are some of the small choices you’ve made that help the market feel welcoming and make people feel like you know they’re walking around with dignity.

Speaker 4  16:47  

I think, as much as we try to preach a rhetoric of safety and anti judgment of where you come from and why you need this food, we’re still met with folks that we see on a weekly basis, but still feel as though it is important to tell us that it is their first time visiting. So I think the biggest thing that we try and implement day in and day out is promoting respect. I think as long as we know that we are not there to judge, we are there to serve and again, going back to what I said earlier, if everybody eats, then everybody who walks in is deserving to be there regardless of whether it’s your first time or it’s your 100th

Speaker 1  17:25  

I love that model. I mean, when everybody eats, everyone’s happy. I mean, no one wants to be around somebody hungry. I think I also read in one article, there’s another pop up in Nashville. I think it’s called, like the market or the store or something like that. But for people in different communities that are hearing this and they’re like, you know, could we make something like this work where I live? What practical pieces of advice or guidance, you know, in terms of where they should start or consider, what thoughts do you have?

Speaker 3  17:57  

I think the first thing that anybody will want to do right is really do a landscape analysis. And I know that sounds like very sort of mental if you will, but I would say what is happening within your community. So I think we have a tendency to want to meet the need. But is there a true need? And if there’s a true need, then, by all means, go all in. But the last thing I would ever want somebody to do is to sort of take away from something that has already been established, that is already meeting that need, and then sort of fail to sort of actually help support the community, because what you’re doing instead isn’t fracturing it. I think after that, it’s really then about ensuring that you are leaning into the supporting that success and thinking about, sort of where you’re going to host things. And what I mean by that is the first time I had a chance to visit the market after starting in this role, I looked out the door, and I was like, there’s a bus stop right there. And I was like, I’m not sure if they realized that was intentional, but that is beyond sort of just a great example of what it means, right? Because yes, I drive, I have access to a car, but if you don’t, and you are trying to navigate across the city, public transportation is going to help you get there. And knowing that I can take a bus to get there, to get to my food, to get to everything, and then I can get on a bus to get back that for me, just says, okay, there was some level of intentionality around not only choosing this space, but also choosing this location. I’ve seen others across the country where it’s a great initiative, but the location sort of restricts and provides, actually a barrier to actually meeting the need of the community. Those would be my things, sort of coming in several months, nearly a year after the market having already been established. But Eunice, you may have others,

Speaker 4  19:29  

yeah, I think just to add on to that, the biggest thing that comes to my head is capacity. It’s kind of assessing the specific needs of the community and also assessing the capacity that you also have, like what Dr C said earlier about the point of, do you know what is, what else is happening within the community, and are there any efforts that you could collaborate on or support rather than sort of creating new I think, is also an important question to ask and figure out on top of. The logistic questions, like, is there enough people to sort of map this project out and then see it through? And then also funds? And, yeah, but I think the biggest thing is capacity.

Speaker 1  20:11  

Y’all are my people. You know, I work in operations, and my backgrounds in, like, strategic guidance for nonprofits, and that’s always the thing, right? Is Like, is there a need? And if there is a need, what does that need look like? Because philanthropy at large and communities are always trying to help. And I think oftentimes the models that work best are those, even when it comes to federal policy, right? Like, there’s now been a big push to kind of include lived experts, or, you know, people that have real life experience that translates to the policies that we’re trying to pass. And oftentimes people advocating or developing policies can be so far removed from what is actually practical, like something as simple as is it coordinated with public transportation? You know, like it blows your mind. Sometimes, when you look at something that may have cost, you know, multi millions of dollars of an investment, and you’re looking back and you’re like, oh, wow, it could have been better served. So kind of thinking about the intentionality. And in some communities, it may look like diapers and formula, right? Like making sure that it’s a reflection of the community. And I think that’s why the market has been so successful and organic. You know, to what you said Eunice is it seemed like a natural extension of what was already being offered. I think that really makes a lot of sense. And you know, if you could sit down with someone, right, that is making budgets, that is drafting legislation, what’s a story that you’d like them to hear as it relates to, you know, all the different things that you work on, or the intersectionality of it all?

Speaker 3  21:53  

You know, it’s an interesting question. And the reason why I say it’s an interesting question is because I I caution about trying to tell a story, in a sense, they’re like, you know, is it my story? Somebody’s story? I never want to put somebody else’s words my mouth and never want to sort of share somebody else’s experiences or pain in that regard. And so I’m not sure I would tell a story, per se, but what I might do is actually sit down and have a conversation and sort of ask about their experiences growing up. Ask about their sort of experiences with or without food insecurity. Talk about sort of their childhood upbringing. Think about sort of what that looks like for their families, whether that’s sort of by blood or or chosen families right now and then just lean into that. I might even, I might even invite them, from an operation standpoint, right, to sort of be with us day in and day out on a day that we’re working to market, to be there from the point in which we have three or four different deliveries coming through and setting up the marketing, getting stuff on the shelves, and watching the folks come through who are asking the question, who are looking for resources that The library is providing, and then asking them to stand and serve in that same day to understand fully what all goes into this. And then asking them, sort of after you have experienced all of this, what are your impressions, right? What are you feeling? What are you thinking? And how can we sort of further ensure that the people that you met today, the individuals whose lives that you’ve impacted today can continue then, sort of going on, because it isn’t always as just like I’m just here looking for a handout, as always, I’m just sort of needing this thing right now, there are some folks who rely on these resources, and for me, I would want them to be able to see The lived experiences and to actually experience that real life impact, rather than hear a story, if you will.

Speaker 1  23:46  

I get that. Yeah, that makes sense. Eunice, do you have anything to add?

Unknown Speaker  23:51  

No, I think Dr C put it so eloquently. He shut it down. I can’t follow that? Yeah, I

Speaker 1  24:01  

know he said it would have to be like a compilation of stories, because we can’t sum it all up into one. And I think that’s accurate, right? And so much of what you know, oftentimes, we try to do at first focus at the federal level is, you know, we’re not talking about just health like we’re not talking about just child welfare, and even when you get into the nitty gritty of a certain issue, everyone’s experience is so different. And so when you can see what it’s like to live to access benefits or the challenges, to access them, and then the process to access them, and what that looks like, and then kind of hitting repeat on that over and over, and experiencing that at a broad level across, you know, so many different situations that’s hard to sum up in one story. So I completely understand that. And on that note, you know, we do ask guests we have, like a running speaking of kids playlist. Dr Cunningham, you look real like concerned. He’s like, Wait, what’s this? What’s this? Question that’s about. And, you know, let’s start with you two, okay, three months into this, you may have a really good one. You know, what’s a song that you listen to or that you go to, an album? I’ll even give you an album that you go to that helps reset you, or a song that helps reset you and move you forward. When you’re just having a moment,

Speaker 3  25:17  

you came, you came right to me. Okay, so here’s the thing. I remember, my first record I ever owned was Prince Purple Rain, right? I even remember the scratch in it and, like, it messed me up the first time I heard it on CD, and I was like, where’s the scratch? Like, I didn’t have a chance to hit the record player. I’m not that old, but I still remember owning a record and so and so. That is nostalgia for me, but my taste has certainly matured right now when, when I’m in a mood and I need to sort of be recentered, I go to the Marvin Sapp playlist, and I know that seems sort of interesting, but for me, when I hear the song, the best in me, come on, that is like, okay, like no matter what anybody else sees or thinks like I am doing everything I can to ensure that I am serving others, and as long as sort of, he sees me for what I am doing, and he sees me for who I am, then, then I can accomplish anything else.

Unknown Speaker  26:17  

Eunice, he sets you up again. He said,

Speaker 5  26:22  

I can hit you with prints and some gospel. He said, I’m gonna have it covered.

Unknown Speaker  26:28  

He said, Purple Rain. Yeah. I mean, so what do you have

Speaker 4  26:33  

that’s hard to follow that, but I’m maybe gonna take the direction of shouting out a Baltimore artist I really like nourished by time. On the day where we were all getting our music stats back, he was my Artist of the Year. But specifically, I really love shed that fear by nourished by time. He kind of mixes both like the retro and futuristic sound. So maybe something that also Dr C might like and, yeah, I really recommend shout out to Marcus.

Speaker 1  27:04  

That was mic drop too, because we left on someone local. So shout out to that. Yeah, thank you both so much for taking the time to be here today. You’re both doing great work, so I can’t wait to visit the market myself, but then also see what transpires in the years to come. So thank you both.

Unknown Speaker  27:21  

Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having us.

Selley Looby  27:26  

When I think about kids wandering through those aisles, maybe grabbing a snack after school or stopping in to finish homework, I see a new kind of library card, one that doesn’t just check out books, but it checks in on people. Every community has the power to do what Baltimore is doing, to look around, see the need and say, why not us? So here’s our takeaway today, if you want to fight hunger, start where people already feel safe. If this episode got you thinking about how your community could do something similar. Share this post. It pass it on. Speaking of kids, is a podcast by first focus on children. It’s produced by Windhaven productions and blue jay Atlantic. Elizabeth Windom is the supervising producer. Julia Windom is the editor. Jay Woodward is the Senior Producer. For more information about this episode, visit first focus.org.