“We understand the concept of food insecurity - I live in Chicago, there’s areas where there’s not access to fresh foods. When you come from a cultural background, or an immigrant background, that’s further amplified. Now, not only are you challenged with getting fresh food, but then also the foods that matter that you, the food that makes sense to you. You know, the foods that has generations of ancestral lineage that you grew up with, that you’re aware of, that you have to cook as opposed to using poor substitutes to try and recreate those memories.”
The idea of food security has been around for quite some time, but never manages to grasp the full complexity and nuances of what it means to secure foods, or what foods are the most culturally appropriate and nourishing. And in turn, efforts to assist those facing food insecurity quite often miss the mark in making cultural food easier to reach. And with increased regional lockdowns and the significantly reduced accessibility and time that many people are facing, finding culturally appropriate foods gets more challenging. While there is a growth in grocery and food deliver apps, they tend to favour big chain grocery stores – and means that there are certain trade-offs in deciding what foods to get. For those trying to source and buy their cultural foods, how can they use these technologies and find the cultural ingredients they need to make their foods?
Boyede Sobitan with OjaExpress co-founder Fola Dada
This week’s guest, Boyede Sobitan, has created a really inspiring solution to this. Boyede is the founder and CEO of OjaExpress, a Chicago-based online marketplace and delivery service that sources cultural ingredients from specialty stores. As a Nigerian immigrant, Boyede experienced how difficult and inconvenient it was to find ethnic groceries to make his favourite meals from home. At the same time, he recognized the disparity of capabilities between the mom and pop stores that immigrant communities rely on, versus the more established big-box competitors. These smaller stores were simply not equipped with the technology or means to provide the same level of service that supermarkets could provide. To address this, Boyede founded OjaExpress to be the “United Nations of groceries” by making ethnic foods accessible for those craving a taste of home.
Learn More about Boyede and OjaExpress:
Website: https://ojaexpress.com/
Instagram: @ojaexpress