shuttered after failing to continue communicating its purpose to the target market.
On Tuesday, Evan Folds kept its shortcomings in mind as he delivered free boxes of food to residents on Princess Street.
âThey didnât get their community connected to the project,â Folds said of The Renaissance. âThey didnât truly educate about . . . what a cooperative business is and get that buy-in.â
The failed project in Greensboro serves as a
lesson for his group â the Northside Food Cooperative, Inc. â as it strives to retry that model by bringing a cooperative grocer to Wilmingtonâs food desert.
Northside Food Co-Op organizers educate residents on how a cooperative grocery store could benefit the community at a holiday food pop-up. (Port City Daily photo/Alexandria Sands)
Leading Into New Communities, Inc. operates a transitional living campus on Division Drive for participants in its re-entry program; the goal of which is to help people recently released from prison while they regain financial independence and secure permanent housing. (Port City Daily photo/Alexandria Sands)
WILMINGTON â Re-entering society after prison is no easy task. Thereâs a criminal record to disclose on job applications, often no stable home to return to and the temptation to return to old vices.
Add âpandemicâ to that list and the challenge becomes unparalleled.
Thatâs when organizations like Leading Into New Communities, Inc. (LINC) are needed. The nonprofit guides men and women through the struggles of returning to life after jail or prison.