Franchising

Fast casual concept opens within 'healthy food desert'

Provided

December 9, 2021

Greenbar, a healthy fast casual concept committed to serving communities within healthy food deserts, debuted this month in Ft. Washington, Maryland, 35 miles south of Baltimore. The area in Prince George's County is one of the highest-income, African-American-majority counties in the country but remains a food swamp and a healthy food desert with an abundance of fast food outlets and convenience stores, according to Sharisse Barksdale-Lane, co-founder of Greenbar.

Siblings Brandon and Sharisse Barksdale-Lane have opened Greenbar. Provided.

"Although Prince George's County is an affluent Black suburb, with income and property value data to support that, it has limited to no access to healthy food options, an issue that was magnified during COVID," she said in a company press release. "The unhealthier restaurant chains are in this neighborhood by design to exploit the people living in this area. Our goal in opening Greenbar is to bring healthy food options to underserved or otherwise neglected communities and address the health disparities and other social inequities."

Greenbar was born in 2020 during the COVID-19 global pandemic, when Barksdale-Lane and her brother, Brandon, grew frustrated with the lack of healthy food options available for takeout and delivery in their community.

"We can no longer wait for big healthy food brands to come to us, so we took action where no one else would and are building a coalition of like-minded investors, partners and customers to make this movement a nation-wide initiative," Brandon Barksdale, co-founder of Greenbar, said in the release.

After graduating from the University of Virginia, the siblings have collaborated on several entrepreneurial ventures including their first business, a chicken and waffles food truck based in Washington, D.C.

The siblings also own a chicken and waffles food truck in D.C., understand that eating healthy may be intimidating and expensive. Their goal is to overcome those stigmas through thoughtful design, education and community outreach. The menu, which includes ingredients sourced from local farms and reputable local vendors, is easy-to-understand and includes something for all dietary preferences, according to the release. The price point is competitive with most fast food and casual chains, according to the release.