Help Yourself Growing Communities

December 14, 2011

Dear Friends of Help Yourself,

What would the world be like if we invested 50% of our money within 50 miles of where we live?

This was a question posed by Woody Tasche, founder of the Slow Food organization and the Slow Money Alliance. "Slow Money is bringing people together around a new conversation about money, that is too fast, about finance that is disconnected from people and place, about how we can begin fixing our economy from the ground up... starting with food."

I am a passionate promoter of healthy food; food that is good for us, good for the planet, and good for the communities and farmers that grow it. I believe in the importance of community. I sincerely believe the key to our future is to ‘slow down’ and reconnect to our food and our community, food after all is a fundamental part of our life; it connects us all.

I founded Help Yourself just over three years ago with a commitment to provide tasty and healthy food to the community of Key West. Specifically food that has been grown without the use of pesticides and chemicals, and that is as local as possible. My vision for Help Yourself, however, goes far beyond simply being a small café serving tasty food. Help Yourself is a social enterprise that puts people and the planet ahead of simple wealth accumulation, and is therefore committed to reinvesting a percentage of its profits back into the community. Currently the majority of schools feed our children food that is processed, refined and loaded with chemicals. In other cases there are people who simply do not have access to ‘Real Food’ either through lack of finances or reasonable and reliable sources. Many simply lack the knowledge and only require education on the importance of real food and how to prepare it. These issues can be addressed with innovative new thinking. For instance edible gardens seeded on empty plots of land, at schools, on roofs tops, and in co-operative community gardens can alleviate many of these issues. Help Yourself is committed to being a part of these changes, we like to call it 'Help Yourself, Helping Others.'

One of my personal perspectives is that I don’t see problems, rather I seek solutions. Those of us who know Key West recall the Waterfront Market during its heyday as an inspiring community hub of healthy living. Sadly when it closed its doors there was an immediate lack of access to fresh organic produce. I made the decision to set up our own weekly farmer’s market at Help Yourself to ensure a great selection of organic produce would still be available to the community.

The Help Yourself Monday Farmers market has supplied fresh organic food to our community for over three years now; however I began to sense the need for a larger and more regular market here. Clearly the Universe agreed and consequently two recent events led to this becoming a reality. Firstly, our organic produce distributor decided it was no longer cost effective to make the trip to Key West and they decided to stop delivering to the Keys. This was largely due to their lack of seeking more business to make the journey profitable. With no other supplier of organic produce to the Keys, and not willing to compromise on ingredients, we had to make a quick decision. We decided we would become distributors of organic food throughout the Florida Keys. We now rent a van every week and leave Key West at 2.30 a.m. on Monday mornings to drive up the Keys and pick up our produce. I began approaching other businesses in need of organic produce and now we deliver to six other health food stores/restaurants on the way back down to Key West. We are now taking on more customers each week, and will soon launch a greater effort in Key West to encourage other businesses to incorporate local and organic produce with our Help Yourself Wholesale program. The loss of our supplier became a blessing in disguise as it now means we are able to have more control over our food supply and work directly with small organic farmers.

The next sign from the Universe came when the laundromat space connected to Help Yourself became vacant. I took this as a sign that it was time to expand and open a daily organic market selling fresh produce, artisan cheeses, pasture-raised meats, grab and go meals and other ingredients to Help Yourself @ Home. We also plan on being able to convert the space for use in cooking classes, private dinners and conscious gatherings.

All of this growth requires money. We need to source a truck for our distribution business, also refrigeration for produce, and other equipment. Construction for the new retail section is another expense. At Help Yourself we believe wholeheartedly in the new paradigm of healthy conscious living, therefore we decided to join a growing group of entrepreneurs looking for alternative ways to raise money for growth within their communities. Enter ‘Slow Money’ and the ‘Locavesting’ paradigm busting concepts of social responsibility and growth. Founded in these philosophies I am asking our community in Key West and the friends of Help Yourself to help make this new expansion possible.

By helping us fund this evolutionary style of business we make the following commitments to you:

• We commit to sourcing and providing you with the freshest local and organic foods
• We commit to never compromising on our ingredients, ensuring that when you purchase a meal from Help Yourself you know its nutritious as well as delicious
• We commit to providing honest education and awareness regarding food, nutrition and food preparation
• We commit to putting people and the planet before profit
• We commit to Helping Others and supporting community

We have $30,000 to raise and three weeks to do it! We will keep you updated of our progress on Facebook!

If you are interested in donating higher amounts or giving us an actual loan with a repayment commitment in cash or ‘Carrot Cash’ please contact me directly charlie@helpyourselfcafe.com

Pledges can be made online at the right of this page using PayPal/Credit Card, in person in the store, by credit card over the phone (305 296 7766) or mailed to: 829 Fleming Street, Key West, FL, 33040.

(Please note: T-shirts and snack baskets will be sent out in the New Year, the E-Book will be available in April, the guided 30 Day Help Yourself Plan will be available in May)

Lastly, if you are in Key West, we invite you to join us for a fund-raising event from 6-8 p.m. December 21st in the garden at Old Town Manor (511 Eaton Street). We will be offering more localized incentives such as cooking classes, dinner parties and Carrot Cash, plus a raffle with some fantastic prizes. Organic appetizers provided by Help Yourself, cash bar with organic wines and cocktails provided by Old Town Manor.

We thank you with our entire hearts for helping make this happen.

Love and Blessings,
Charlie

Read more about Slow Money and the Slow Money Principles.

For more information on the Locavesting movement, click here.