Philadelphia Department of Public Health launches program to combat food inequity

The high schoolers behind Rebel Ventures work alongside Penn undergrads and faculty to design and market their products. Rebel Ventures plan to use the $42,000 from the Food Justice Initiative to open “Rebel Markets," health food markets around Philadelphia, according to The Philadelphia Tribune.

“Our goal is not only to sell what we already make, our Crumbles, but we wanted to give our future customers other healthy alternatives, such as smoothies and other good, delicious, healthy meals,” William Chaney, a sophomore at Freire Charter School, who works on human resources and social media for Rebel Ventures told The Netter Center in March 2019.

A September 2019 study, conducted by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, showed that neighborhoods with the lowest median income have on average 28% fewer high-produce supply stores per capita in comparison to wealthier areas.