We recently connected with Ari and Keke Dixon and have shared our conversation below.

Ari and Keke, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

For years, be both separately knew we wanted to take on a philanthropic endeavor, but we just weren’t share what and when it would be,

Ari: “I always had a strong urge to give back in some capacity. Every Thanksgiving I would always volunteer in the mornings, and then go to my families house in the afternoon. Even as a kid, I was apart of “Boys n Girls Club”, so we volunteered very often. So for me, it was something that was instilled in me at a very young age. But I will never get the moment I realized I wanted to do more. It was Thanksgiving, and my mom and I were volunteering with our church on Skid Row. I was standing with a group if gf’s, and one of my gf’s starts crying. I turn around and ask her what’s wrong, she then proceeds to point at a woman and say “that’s my grandmother in line, we had no idea”. From that moment on, I knew it could be ANYONE. And I was no longer volunteering to help the homeless, I was volunteering to help people. So when my mom came to me about also wanting to do something that helped people, there was no doubt in my mind now was the time. Especially with todays climate, and the majority is struggling to get by.

Ari: But the actual idea came from us initially having something completely different in mind. We were sooooo excited, but when it was time for us to do our market research and really do our due diligence to execute our vision, we ran into a complete brick wall. I’ll never forget the solemn feeling of driving around, not knowing what today. Everything we had worked in, was obliterated in a matter of minutes. We then called our late Unlce Frank, and he gave us the best encouragement. My mind began racing, we both were sitting there trying to come up with a new idea or a solution. The idea of a free farmers market kept crossing my mind, but I honestly didn’t think she would agree to it(she always says I dream too big lol). So I wasn’t going to say anything. But I took the leap of faith and said my idea, and she loved it! The rest was history. My mom completely hit the round running with her expertise and strong background in public relationships, and past history with working for a major nonprofit organization. So it ended up being the perfect pairing:) Where I fall short is where her strength lies, and vice versa

Keke:
During the pandemic, I met a family of seven who had lost everything. A mother, father, and five children, under the age of five-years-old. They were living in their truck in an affluent neighborhood. They needed food, gas, diapers, water, and basic needs. Most importantly, they needed water and gas because of the triple digit temperatures. They needed to stay hydrated and needed gas to keep the car running in order to run the air conditioner. God placed it in my heart to help them. It is my belief to not boast are share the times I have helped people, but in this case, I called Ari and told her about the family. Ari instantly Cashapp me help also. It is funny how God works because a gentleman at the gas station came up to me. He said, “I want to help. I do not know what is going on, but I want to help. Here is a few dollars. Can you give it to them on my behalf?”

I have always helped people and have raised my children to do so as well. I am always moved by the people I meet and understand anyone could be in their shoes, including me. For some reason the family I met in the parking lot touched my heart in a way that was life changing. I wanted to do more. I decided I would drop off water to people in need. About two months later, Ari called and said another organization was doing what I planned on doing. In a state of sadness and wishing I had acted faster, Ari said, “You can still do something. We can do something together.” On that day, we began to think of ideas. We decided to help the homeless. After much research and speaking to the homeless community, our ideas were either tapped into or their were other people that needed assistance as well. One day while driving, Ari came up with the idea of hosting a famers market. To her surprise, I agreed. We began to bounce ideas off one another and Our Story Is presents At the Market was born. We quickly began to focus on filling in the stop gap between the wealthy and impoverished. An area that is most often overlooked.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

What do you do when you are stuck in the middle of the ocean without a life jacket? With so much focus on the homeless and low income communities (rightfully so), many middle class individuals who are in survival mode often fall through the cracks. There are very few programs implemented to aid those individuals before hitting poverty.

“Our Story Is” is the stop gap between the wealthy and impoverished, with a mission to fill in the gaps before people hit poverty level. With poverty increasing by nearly 60% in the San Fernando Valley alone from 2020 to 2022, this illustrates the urgency of aid needed for those right before they become impoverished. In a climate of inflation, many are faced with the tough choice whether to purchase groceries for the week, get gas for the week, or pay their rent.

In order to combat this, once a month “Our Story Is” will host a FREE farmers market serving the underserved middle class, called “At the Market”. This farmers market will provide the highest quality fresh and/or organic produce, healthy food, entertainment, clothing boutique, as well as 90% biodegradable and eco-friendly products.

At Our Story Is, there is a strong understanding that no one is exempt, and it could be any one of us.
WE AIM TO GIVE TO OTHERS AS IF THEIR STORY COULD BE OUR STORY.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

When we first started and began going into pitch meetings, our idea would often fall flat. Because, what we are doing (a free farmers market with all farm fresh produce, free food from well-known companies, entertainment, etc.), is very unique. Therefore many people did not understand, and it was difficult for people to see our vision. But, we knew although our idea was very unique, there was also an extrémeme need for it.

Once we ran into this issue, we knew we had to do some major adjustments to our marketing. Because we serve the “middle/working class”, it’s hard for people to see beyond only providing aid to the homeless and/or low income. Which is why the working/middle class class is so underserved, because help typically isn’t provided until they’ve dropped just above poverty level. Very frequently we hear the phrase, “everyone is just a paycheck away from being homeless”, but what is being done for this not to be an issue prior to that paycheck leaving?

Because the topic of helping the working class is nearly taboo and rarely spoken of, we knew we needed to highlight the issue and provide platforms for both the problem and our organization as the solution.

In addition to honing in on our strategic marketing, we believe our launch ultimately have us our stamp of credibility. Because it can be obscure to most people since it’s a new concept, seeing is understanding, From all the invited guests, volunteers, and market goers, there was a collective “aha moment”. Because of this, we are aware we have to prove ourselves at each market in order to sustain our reputation.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest hits we took early on was our produce-sponsor falling through. This was a huge hit, because at the time they were our only produce sponsor, and responsible for purchasing a little over 3/4 of our produce. Because “At the Market” is a nonprofit organization, we rely primarily on verbal agreements and that people will uphold their word. Whether they’re in-kind donations, volunteer hours, or monetary donations. We quickly had to learn the importance of playing chess, and always not only thinking a few steps ahead, but having several contingency plans in place.

Contact Info:

• Website: Ourstoryis.com
• Instagram: @ourstoryis_
• Facebook: @ourstoryis_
• Twitter: @ourstoryis_

Image Credits
Bobby Miles