As Weaver Street’s head buyer, I want to let you know about our commitment to buying from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) producers, how we are going about it, and what you can do to help.
Weaver Street purchasing practices have historically overlooked communities of color. Products from BIPOC vendors represent less than 4% of our total sales, although this demographic makes up 37% of North Carolina’s population. In the past several months, our buyers have been leaning into this uncomfortable reality and determining what we can do address this injustice.
Although there are many societal reasons for this gap, such as Black land loss and unfair lending practices, our own exclusionary practices are also to blame. For example, we have required producers to find us, wade into our poorly communicated systems, and figure out our jargon. We have been too willing to tell BIPOC producers that their product “didn’t meet our customers’ needs” without giving it a try, or that it wasn’t “retail ready,” without working with them to make it ready. The E.Q.U.I.T.Y. Alliance, a group of Black Weaver Street employees, has been instrumental in pointing out these exclusionary practices and steadfast in the need to correct them.
Going forward, we have three goals and commitments:
1. Increase Game Changer producers and sales. Game Changers is our new label for a company or brand owned by individuals that identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or Person of Color (BIPOC) – a population underrepresented in retail markets. Our buyers have set ambitious goals to increase the number of vendors and products with the ultimate goal of increasing Game Changer sales to a minimum of 37% of our overall business, to match the demographics of our community.
2. Partner with BIPOC producers to help make their businesses successful. We have been listening and visiting with BIPOC producers and entrepreneurs to educate ourselves about their challenges and how we can be a better partner. Out of this conversation we came up with a new loan program, with the first loan made to Faithfull Farms to purchase two hoop houses to grow celery and parsley for Weaver Streets year around.
3. Change our purchasing systems to make them more inclusive. A new task force is re-imagining our vendor recruitment process, creating systems to solicit suggestions from workers and customers, and the community and–most importantly–looking for new ways of increasing Game Changer sales
Please help us achieve these goals! Here is how you can help:
- Purchase Game Changer products, which you can identify by the image on the signs and shelf tags, and by shopping the Game Changers end-cap.
- Tell your friends about the Game Changers.
- Alert us about potential Game Changer products and brands that we should consider at feedback@weaverstreetmarket.coop.
- Challenge us to do better and help us to make our product assortment more welcoming for all community members.
Thanks,
James Watts