Fun & Fungus – Detroit’s Alternative Foods @ Model D
Detroit has been in the news a lot lately for its innovative approaches to urban farming and local sourcing. But there are other individuals, who’ve received less attention, picking a new path toward food sovereignty and sustainable nutrition. Seen through their eyes, Detroit alive with possibilities in even more ways than many even knew.
I witnessed this recently on walk I took with Tepfirah Rushdan, director of Urban Agriculture at The Greening of Detroit, whose passion for engaging with her native home of Detroit goes back further than her official position.
“I’ve always been an off-the-grid type of person, trying to figure out how to live life a little less dependent on systems,” says Rushdan. “The blackout in 2003 was a big wake-up call for me. I thought I was off the grid, but really, I was dependent on these systems for my very survival. So I was like, let me figure out what I can eat.”
Our walk was about discovering wild edibles, like dandelions, burdock, and broadleaf plantain—plants that most people would take for little more than weeds, but others know for their nutritional and medicinal properties.