About Us

No more food deserts. The drought is over!

You might be wondering what, exactly, is a food desert. Well, in the city of Chicago, it’s a pretty big problem. A problem in which entire communities have severely limited access to fresh fruits and veggies, and therefore suffer from significant health issues related to poor diets.

After reading a 2006 report that mapped food deserts in Chicago, a group of community activists banded together to work on a solution.  Steven Casey and Jeff Pinzino were soon joined by Sheelah Muhammad.  The three of them brought together the combination of skills and talents that helped make Fresh Moves a reality.

But this was not an easy problem to solve. The simple fact was that opening a traditional market wouldn’t address the multi-neighborhood needs quickly or efficiently.  National chains have difficulty finding large parcels of affordable urban land to support their high costs of operation.  Independents can’t gamble on unproven locations, and ethnic markets are slow to grow.  So despite high profit margins for fresh foods and substantial unmet demand, Food Desert Action had to think outside the big box.

The answer? Put the whole thing on wheels! So Food Desert Action sprang into, well, ACTION. They were able to secure a bus, donated from the CTA. They partnered with Architecture for Humanity to transform the bus into a mobile produce market. They worked with volunteers at EPIC to put together this website. And now, they’re working hard to bring the Lawndale community fresh, delicious, nutritious produce – and educating the public at large about how fun it can be to eat healthily.

Want to get involved or learn more? Contact the FOOD DESERT ACTION team directly – fooddesertaction@gmail.com.

Meet the Fresh Moves Crew

Steve Casey, Board President - stevec@freshmoves.org

Steve’s professional, community, and personal life is intentionally driven by one goal: giving to his community. The Caseys are raising their son Joel in Chicago’s Englewood community.  A homeowner and property owner in his neighborhood, Steve is also affiliated with numerous community-related activities, including the local and national Urban League chapters, Food Desert Action, NFP, Neighborhood Housing Services, The Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission, and the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) initiative.  Named a German Marshall Fund Fellow in 2004, Steve spent time in Europe studying global economic, political, and social issues.

Steve’s favorite quote, one that exemplifies his mission, is credited to the influential German thinker Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them become what they are capable of being.”

Sheelah Muhammad, Board Secretary – sheelahm@freshmoves.org

As a community development practitioner, a naprapath and the daughter of a grocer, Sheelah is ardent about positively shifting the health trajectory of children and families in low-resource communities. She has spent the vast majority of her professional career creating and implementing organization and strategic program initiatives that target historically excluded, vulnerable and underserved populations. Her years of experience in community engagement have shaped her belief that where you live determines how you live. Her most recent work in philanthropy focused on analyzing the social determinants of health, and developing programmatic interventions linking poverty, education and economic opportunity to health outcomes.

Sheelah is a member of the Board of Directors of Healthy Schools Campaign, a guest lecturer at Northwestern University and an African dance enthusiast.

Jeff Pinzino, Board Vice-President – jeffp@freshmoves.org

Jeff brings experience as a community organizer, fundraiser, and food lover to his work with Fresh Moves.  He is Development Director for National People’s Action, a national community organizing network, and is principally responsible for raising the organization’s annual budget.  Jeff was Program Officer at the Woods Fund of Chicago for eight years, managing grants in community organizing and public policy advocacy.  Jeff worked as a community organizer for seven years in Chicago with the Logan Square Neighborhood Association and Northwest Neighborhood Federation.  Jeff has helped to start several organizations, including Stone Soup Co-Operative, Interfaith Youth Core, and Food Desert Action.

Dara Cooper, Senior Project Manager - dara@freshmoves.org

Dara Cooper is an activist, organizer and whole food lover who has been active in human rights struggles for about half of her life. Dara has worked for the past decade on economic development, HIV/AIDS  resource access in South Africa and Ethiopia, the exoneration of U.S. political prisoners and exiles, and mentoring young people working on healthy food access at the Congressional Hunger Center. She has been fortunate to travel the country (and world) meeting with incredible organizations working on innovative projects to alleviate hunger, destructive foods, and/or struggling to create a more just food system and world.

Dara is an advisory board member for the Healthy Food Hub (a reverse CSA supporting Black farmers in Pembroke and local food access), Rising in Solidarity with Ayiti (Haiti solidarity) and a member of Ella’s Daughters (an organization of activists inspired by the legacy of Ella Baker).   As the Senior Project Manager for Fresh Moves, she is very excited to be apart of an innovative project and important movement addressing equity and food access.