Silver City, part 2

The second part of this series revolves around our personal interest in starting a venture in Silver City.

The town seems diverse:  copper mines provide jobs for a large sector of the population,  art galleries and coffee shops crowd along Bullard St., Western New Mexico University is situated on the edge of town, etc.  For a smallish town, the opportunities to meet different people seem abundant.  And many are transplants themselves, moving by some sort of choice to the area.  I like this -- transplants are, from my experience, more open to inviting others into their community.

Another long term interest of mine has been addressing hunger and poverty in a direct way.  New Mexico, in comparison to the rest of the U.S., has the fourth highest rate of persons living at or below the poverty line (as of 2009).  Poverty finds many ways of taking shape, and does not always immediately imply dire suffering.  We didn't see homeless persons while we spent time in Silver.  We didn't see persons sleeping on the street.  I did get a chance to talk a little bit to a volunteer at a local twice-a-month food bank, and am interested in finding out more about their work and clientele.  There may not be an incredible need for free-ish food as one might find in a metropolitan area, but we recognize that food insecurity knows no boundaries.  We have long said that this venture needs to reflect the needs of the community in which it is established, and not create false assumptions of need.  We are committed to making and maintaining networks in Silver City to find ways that we can best support the community.  This will likely mean trips to the area before we even relocate.  This may also mean moving to Silver and having a buffer time before opening any doors.


We know that there will be downsides to living in a relatively secluded area.  Access to restaurant equipment, food distributors, etc. will be harder.  There will surely be unforeseen obstacles that we'll encounter.  But that's part of the journey, and if we can figure out ways to work through them, then super.  If we can't, then we'll regroup and go from there.

So, for now, we're taking a lot of notes.  Starting to make some connections, starting to do some more research...

Just as an aside, I hoping to make a weekly entry to this blog, simply letting you know more of our thoughts and ideas as we go.  We look forward to continuing to hear your comments!

Peace!