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Cities Are Boosting the Economy by Rewarding Those Who Shop Local

Sakshi Udavant

June 03, 2021 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Akron, Ohio

Akron, Ohio, is “creating a circular economy” in hopes of helping small businesses and encouraging residents to shop locally. A city-sponsored app, Akronite, is used by consumers to make purchases and earn reward points which can be redeemed for discounts and other perks. The app’s success is clear in the high return on investment, which shows $9 generated for every dollar invested by the local government. Other cities across the country are also adopting the initiative, tweaking it to their own communities.

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Sew it goes: The Sewing Machine Project stitches lives back together

Richard Mertens

June 03, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Madison, Wisconsin

The Sewing Machine Project has helped thousands of people who rely on sewing as a livelihood. The organization refurbishes used sewing machines and sends them across the world. For some recipients, access to their own sewing machine can result in economic mobility and an improved quality of life.

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A new Oakland-based incubator helps small businesses step up their game

Ricky Rodas

May 27, 2021 |

The Oaklandside |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

An incubator is bringing business services and training to entrepreneurs in Oakland. The Port Product Lab is free of cost and helps businesses improve their products.

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Food waste is heating up the planet. Is dumpster-diving by app a solution?

Katie Yoder

May 25, 2021 |

Grist |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

The app Too Good to Go helps restaurants and other shops prevent food waste by selling their extra food to people for a cheaper price. So far, more than 700,000 people in the United States have downloaded the app and the company estimates that, on average, each meal sold halts 2.2 pounds of food from ending up in the garbage, which ends up reducing carbon emissions. There are challenges to widespread implementation, but the app has launched in New York City, Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle.

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This Federal Program to Aid Restaurants and Street Vendors Is Working

Oscar Perry Abello

May 25, 2021 |

Next City |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

In just its first few weeks of existence, the U.S. Small Business Administration's Restaurant Revitalization Fund approved more than $6 billion in aid to 38,000 restaurants and other food vendors suffering economically from pandemic shutdowns. The aid program's rollout was more effective than the Paycheck Protection Program in 2020, in that it successfully targeted businesses owned by women, veterans, and "socially or economically disadvantaged people." It was helped in outreach to businesses by organizations such as Mission Economic Development Agency and New York's Street Vendor Project.

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This South L.A. startup will turn your front lawn into a farm

Adele Peters

May 25, 2021 |

FastCompany |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

A startup in California called Crop Swap LA is converting unused front yards into community gardens that can grow crops like kale, rainbow chard, and tomatoes as a way to feed neighbors. Community members can pay for subscriptions for up to $43 a month to receive a bundle of greens and vegetables from the microfarms and homeowners get a share of the profits. Each garden needs to have the proper maintenance, which can make it difficult to scale, but these gardens can help provide access to food to those who don’t have a grocery store in their area.

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San Francisco's Filipino Cultural District Keeping Hope Alive After a Tough Year

Oscar Perry Abello

May 18, 2021 |

Next City |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

“UNDSCVRD SF," funded by the SOMA Community Stabilization Fund and produced by the nonprofit Kultivate Labs, is a night market held once a month from July to November that features a range of Filipino vendors. There were over 35,000 attendees in 2019 and it generated $300,000 in sales. It also serves as a testing ground to select businesses for Kultivate Labs’ SEED Accelerator Program and grantees for the SOMA Fund. The former provides bootcamps and one-on-one support for Filipino-owned businesses that are located in, or would like to be located in, a permanent space within the SOMA cultural district.

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The Cherokee Nation to Produce Its Own PPE

Kristi Eaton

May 13, 2021 |

The Daily Yonder |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Stilwell, Oklahoma

The Cherokee Nation had a hard time sourcing personal protective equipment for health workers, citizens, and others during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tribal leaders decided to use a portion of the CARES Act funding to create their own manufacturing facilities to produce PPE for both Cherokee Nation citizens and non-citizens. Though still in the testing phase, the facilities are already training 10 people and plan to employ a minimum of 25 people. They will make about 200,000 surgical masks a day and will also produce N95 and N99 masks that they will distribute to healthcare workers and other organizations.

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Tired of long waiting times in Starbucks? How about a Robot Barista?

Helena Kudiabor

May 12, 2021 |

Roar News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

To reduce long wait times and exposure to health concerns amid the latest global pandemic, some coffee shops are experimenting with robot baristas. The robot barrista at Café X, in San Francisco, can make about 120 cups of coffee an hour using a robotic arm created by Mitsubishi. While the robot only performs predefined actions, like picking up a cup, pouring milk, and placing the cup in front of the customer, a barista robot at a Singapore café also plays games with customers waiting in line and a Japanese company created a “friendly” robot barista that greets customers with different facial expressions.

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Digital Startups Are Breathing Life Into Canadian Journalism

Tobin Ng

May 12, 2021 |

Canadaland |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada

Digital news startups and platforms are contributing to the growth of independent media in Canada. The outlets are delivering news that can target specific groups and serve specific communities, as opposed to traditional media which seeks to gain the largest possible audience. An increase in subscriptions and a willingness from consumers to pay for quality content has put community news outlets in a position to succeed. Independent news entrepreneurs, Indiegraf, is helping journalists maximize profits by providing technology and business tools.

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