Upstream Works Projects

City of Durham Equitable Engagement: Fayetteville St. Corridor

In October 2019, Iveywood Consulting and Upstream Works Collaborative were jointly awarded a contract to conduct engagement services for the City of Durham. The team is focusing on the Fayetteville Street Corridor in a historically Black neighborhood in Durham. They will pilot innovative ways to improve community engagement in the neighborhood and across the City of Durham. The project will establish an organizing fellowship for a leadership team that will become familiar with the priorities and practices of the City, allowing them to identify problems and create new ways of addressing them. The project will end with a robust survey of the community to reflect a more realistic portrait of their needs. Project ends August 31, 2020.

Point4health

Upstream Works Collaborators Julia Katz and Mary Elbech received two grants to implement Point4Health, a tactical urbanism project with residents of Durham, NC’s West End neighborhood. Wayfinding signs, legacy gardens, and a painted crosswalk and pathway will connect older adults from DHIC’s Maplewood Square community to resources and cost savings at the Durham Co-op Market, located just 0.4 miles away.

Fiscally sponsored projects

50 MealS A Day

When COPA and thousands of other restaurants were forced to close our dining rooms due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us got to work finding new ways to feed people. Innovative programs like Feed the Frontline and Durham's Feed the Fight sprang up all over the country. Restaurants were being paid to feed frontline workers. At the same time, we had to begin using our PPP funds. But we had very little work in our restaurant for the team. So we supplemented with work on our farm, Terra Sacra. The COPA team jumped in enthusiastically and began working together to build up the infrastructure on our nascent farm. To date, they've helped us install greenhouses, install irrigation, strengthen and protect our water supply, and, of course, plant, harvest, and weed. Not long after the shutdown, our nation's food supply chain began to break and people experienced shortages. But we never did.  We had already developed strong relationships with local farmers. They were able to step up and fill in the gap for us. Soon, Chef Roberto began to see how all these pieces could come together to strengthen our entire local food chain while also reducing hunger in our community. That's when 50 Meals a Day was born. Chef Roberto realized that if he could support local farms by both buying from them and investing in their infrastructure, our local food supply chain would be stronger and better. And if he could raise enough money to feed 50 people at a time 6 days a week, he could make a significant impact on hunger in our community while keeping his team employed. After all, a chef has 2 main jobs: 1) to feed people and 2) to take care of the team.

We're buying ingredients from local farms to make meals to feed hungry people—and we're paying our team a living wage to do it in our kitchen. On top of that, we're setting aside $1 per meal, or $50 per delivery to invest in the infrastructure of small farms and help them strengthen their productivity. This is what's called a win-win. Now, are you in?

To Donate Via Check: Make Check out to: Upstream Works
Memo: COPA 50 Meals
Mail to: 106 Drayton Court, Chapel Hill, NC 27516

@copadurham on Instagram, Twitter, and facebook.com/copadurham

Durham Bowls

Durham Bowls is a project by Food Insight Group. Durham-based chefs and School Nutrition Managers have teamed up to develop 10 unique and delicious recipes that meet the strict requirements of school nutrition programs. That means a tight budget, limited kitchen tools, and strict nutritional requirements. Each recipe features local ingredients and has been taste tested and approved by Durham students and families. All 10 Durham Bowls recipes are debuting on Durham Public Schools lunch menus in 2018-19.