Late in 2020, Jason Winik saw a message on a UChicago Slack channel that caught his attention. It asked if anyone was interested in agricultural policy, food waste, and related environmental issues.
“I was like, ‘that’s me,’” recalled Winik, then in his first year at the Harris School of Public Policy. Winik responded and was introduced to Mabel Shiu, who was a second-year student at Chicago Booth and an experienced social entrepreneur. The two started chatting online, mostly about food insecurity.
Six months later, the idea that evolved from those conversations brought a $35,000 award from the prestigious John Edwardson, ’72, Social New Venture Challenge, a Booth competition where student teams pitch, Shark Tank style, to a committee of social and traditional entrepreneurs, impact investors, nonprofit leaders, and Booth alumni. The top three finishers walk away with seed money to start their ventures.
The enterprise that Winik, Shiu, and teammates Monica Meriweather, a UChicago Social Sector Leadership and Nonprofit Management Student, and Jahnvi Vaidya, a Booth MBA student, proposed was Southside Market. It’s a fresh produce market and café providing healthy food access and business ownership opportunities on the South side of Chicago.
“You have this moment where you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, six months ago, we were chatting on Zoom, spring-boarding ideas off each other and now, here we are,’” Winik said. “Now we have a chance to actually do something big here.”
Southside Market also impressed the American Heart Association. Over the summer, the AHA provided a $200,000 grant to the Southside Market team.
This story was first published by Harris School of Public Policy.
