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Our Story: From One Dog's Inspiration to a Movement for Food Justice
Fourteen years ago, a rescue dog named "Chi" changed everything. Watching Chi's transformation through proper nutrition, Bates Reed had an epiphany: if clean food could heal a dog, imagine what it could do for our community.
That moment sparked Community Helps Itself (CHI Markets)—Chattanooga's year-round farmer's market serving families with 100% clean, local, seasonal food ever since.
The Crisis We're Facing
- Food Insecurity: Right here in Chattanooga, 1 in 6 families struggle with food insecurity. Without access to clean food, we're watching diabetes, heart disease, and childhood obesity rates climb in our own community
- Food deserts force families to travel miles for fresh produce—or settle for fast food, convenient store meals
- Corporate control means grocery aisles packed with processed foods while local farms can't get shelf space
- Government cuts to SNAP, WIC, and TEFAP leave vulnerable families scrambling
- Rising costs make healthy eating feel impossible for working families
These aren't just statistics—they're families we serve every week. While government programs come and go, CHI Markets has been the constant for 14 years, and we're not going anywhere.
Everything health-related starts with what you put in your gut. When families can't access clean food, we're talking about diabetes, heart disease, and generational health crises.
Our Proven Solution
For 14 years, we've partnered with 30+ local farms and collaborative partners to provide affordable subscription boxes starting at $25/week. We're a partnership with local farms that puts dignity and quality first. We operate independently of politics—when government programs fail, we're still here.
While others talk about food justice, we're delivering it—one neighborhood, one family, one box of fresh produce at a time. Your donation keeps this lifeline running.
"I've watched families transform when they finally have access to real food. This isn't just about groceries—it's about dignity and hope."
— Bates Reed, Founder
How Your Donation Helps
We have four new neighborhood pickup locations launching in Greater Chattanooga, with plans to reach 20+ communities over the next 12-18 months. Your donation directly creates:
- Weekly Fresh Food for Families: $25 provides a week of produce from 30+ local farms we personally know and trust—delivered to your family or to those who need a "hand-up"
- Expanded Community Giving: Last year we donated 50,000 pounds of fresh food. Your support helps us double that through our "Fill the Community Fridge" program serving Chattanooga's most vulnerable neighbors with dignity
- Access in Forgotten Neighborhoods: Pickup sites in areas where grocery stores won't go—so families can walk to fresh food instead of traveling miles or settling for convenience store junk
- Technology That Removes Barriers: An easy-to-use online marketplace that delivers clean food to your doorstep or a nearby pickup location—no car required
- A Blueprint for Other Communities: A replication playbook so cities nationwide can launch their own CHI Markets and end food insecurity locally
Every dollar fights food injustice. Every donation feeds hope.
Your Impact
$25 — One family's weekly produce box
$100 — A month of fresh food for one household
$500 — Launch a new neighborhood location
$1,000+ — Founding sponsor of food sovereignty
Help us bring clean food to every neighborhood. Donate today.
Thank you for your support!
Bates Reed & the CHI Markets Team
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Community Helps Itself (aka CHI Markets) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your donation is tax-deductible.
Contact: [email redacted] | [email redacted]
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For 14 years, CHI Markets has been Chattanooga's trusted source for 100% clean, local, seasonal food. Now we're expanding to reach food deserts and underserved neighborhoods where families struggle to access fresh, nutritious food. With government food programs facing cuts and instability, community-based solutions like CHI Markets are more critical than ever.
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Community Helps Itself CHI Markets
Beneficiary