Imagine living in a place where you can't conveniently buy fruits, vegetables, and your favorite gluten-free goodies. You don't have easy access to get the ingredients you need for your favorite homemade Greek salad, spaghetti and meatballs, or something as simple as avocado toast. You are limited to buying canned or processed foods from convenience stores or bodegas.
Many in urban areas---especially the poor and minorities---face this reality, living in what are called "food deserts". According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 37 million Americans live in such locales, where they are forced to travel more than a mile to buy affordable, healthy food.
For Megan Bell and her neighbors, surviving a food desert is a norm. The founder of non-profit, Virtuous Women Empowerment Inc., saw a need in her western Louisville, Kentucky community that she could not ignore.
"I come from a neighborhood that has had gang and gun violence. A lot of that stuff as a kid I did not pay much attention to, but now that I'm older and more involved in the community---connecting with community leaders, activists, non-profit founders, and local government---I started to see that there was a gap in our community. That's what really motivated me to start the non-profit and then start the grocery store," Bell told xoNecole in an interview.
The 30-year-old wife and mother of three decided to do something to provide a central location where shoppers can get fresh produce and other grocery items, and the Next Door Market Grocery Store was birthed. She has found a location, a vacant building in Louisville's West End, and she plans to open summer 2021.
"Food is coming from [retail], liquor, or corner stores or gas stations. It's very important that communities have natural, healthier food stores in a community. When we have chronic diseases, high blood pressure and diabetes, it's important to transition how we eat and get the food sources needed to eat healthy."
The statistics reflect that Bell is on to something. A recent Urban League report indicated that 35% of blacks in the Louisville Metro are living at or below the poverty line, while only 15 percent of whites face the same reality. Life expectancy in western Louisville, known as predominantly black, is about 67 years old, compared with 82 years old for those who live in the eastern communities. Alcohol and drug-related deaths are "eight times higher, diabetes six times higher, and stroke three times higher" in the West End compared with the East End.
Through the Next Door Market Grocery Store, Bell also wants to take things a step further by educating community members on using healthy ingredients, storing produce, and cooking. "People respect what you're trying to do in the community when they feel like they're part of something and there's something you give to them," Bell said. "They appreciate it. We have to have food education... giving them a little more encouragement and showing them how is more important than just putting produce in a store."
Megan Bell stands at the site of the Next Door Market Grocery Store.Photo by Laqudia Smith
Trained as a certified nursing assistant, Bell has always had a passion for helping people. And the need and will to educate and innovate through non-profits and entrepreneurship is something Bell got from her family. "My aunt has her own school, and many of the women in my family have non-profits, too. I believe in empowering women and sisterhood is my number 1 thing."
Through her own organization, she helps women by providing services and hosting events that promote self-accountability, self-esteem, career growth, goal-setting, and healthy lifestyles. She has also volunteered at women's shelters, helping to connect families with resources to combat homelessness. Through this work, she has seen the impact that having easy access to food and produce would have on families, especially women and children. By launching the grocery store, she wants to be an example of service and empowerment even for her own children.
"I want to leave a legacy for my kids to know that even if they don't take the route of having their own business, that they can do something to give back. I want that to be ingrained in them. Maybe they will venture off and do something even bigger and give their generation the ambition to do something great as well."
For more of Megan and her mission, follow her on Instagram.
Featured image courtesy of Megan Bell
In a xoNecoleexclusive, the iconic actress opens up about embracing this season of her life, new projects, and overall being a “bad motherfucker.” Gabrielle reveals that she was 37 years old when she was diagnosed with perimenopause and is still going through it at 51 years old. Mayo Clinic says perimenopause “refers to the time during which your body makes the natural transition to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years.”
“I haven't crossed over the next phase just yet, but I think part of it is when you hear any form of menopause, you automatically think of your mother or grandmother. It feels like an old-person thing, but for me, I was 37 and like not understanding what that really meant for me. And I don't think we focus so much on the word menopause without understanding that perimenopause is just the time before menopause,” she tells us.
Gabrielle Union
Photo by Brian Thomas
"But you can experience a lot of the same things during that period that people talk about, that they experienced during menopause. So you could get a hot flash, you could get the weight gain, the hair loss, depression, anxiety, like all of it, mental health challenges, all of that can come, you know, at any stage of the menopausal journey and like for me, I've been in perimenopause like 13, 14 years. When you know, most doctors are like, ‘Oh, but it's usually about ten years, and I'm like, ‘Uhh, I’m still going (laughs).’”
Conversations about perimenopause, fibroids, and all the things that are associated with women’s bodies have often been considered taboo and thus not discussed publicly. However, times are changing, and thanks to the Gabrielle’s and the Tia Mowry’s, more women are having an authentic discourse about women’s health. These open discussions lead to the creation of more safe spaces and support for one another.
“I want to be in community with folks. I don't ever want to feel like I'm on an island about anything. So, if I can help create community where we are lacking, I want to be a part of that,” she says. “So, it's like there's no harm in talking about it. You know what I mean? Like, I was a bad motherfucker before perimenopause. I’m a bad motherfucker now, and I'll be a bad motherfucker after menopause. Know what I’m saying? None of that has to change. How I’m a bad motherfucker, I welcome that part of the change. I'm just getting better and stronger and more intelligent, more wise, more patient, more compassionate, more empathetic. All of that is very, very welcomed, and none of it should be scary.”
The Being Mary Jane star hasn’t been shy about her stance on therapy. If you don’t know, here’s a hint: she’s all for it, and she encourages others to try it as well. She likens therapy to dating by suggesting that you keep looking for the right therapist to match your needs. Two other essential keys to her growth are radical transparency and radical acceptance (though she admits she is still working on the latter).
"I was a bad motherfucker before perimenopause. I’m a bad motherfucker now, and I'll be a bad motherfucker after menopause. Know what I’m saying? None of that has to change. How I’m a bad motherfucker, I welcome that part of the change."
Gabrielle Union and Kaavia Union-Wade
Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images
“I hope that a.) you recognize that you're not alone. Seek out help and know that it's okay to be honest about what the hell is happening in your life. That's the only way that you know you can get help, and that's also the only other way that people know that you are in need if there's something going on,” she says, “because we have all these big, very wild, high expectations of people, but if they don't know what they're actually dealing with, they're always going to be failing, and you will always be disappointed. So how about just tell the truth, be transparent, and let people know where you are. So they can be of service, they can be compassionate.”
Gabrielle’s transparency is what makes her so relatable, and has so many people root for her. Whether through her TV and film projects, her memoirs, or her social media, the actress has a knack for making you feel like she’s your homegirl. Scrolling through her Instagram, you see the special moments with her family, exciting new business ventures, and jaw-dropping fashion moments. Throughout her life and career, we’ve seen her evolve in a multitude of ways. From producing films to starting a haircare line to marriage and motherhood, her journey is a story of courage and triumph. And right now, in this season, she’s asking, “What’s next?”
“This is a season of discovery and change. In a billion ways,” says the NAACP Image Award winner. “The notion of like, ‘Oh, so and so changed. They got brand new.’ I want you to be brand new. I want me to be brand new. I want us to be always constantly growing, evolving. Having more clarity, moving with different purpose, like, and all of that is for me very, very welcomed."
"I want you to be brand new. I want me to be brand new. I want us to be always constantly growing, evolving. Having more clarity, moving with different purpose, like, and all of that is for me very, very welcomed."
She continues, “So I'm just trying to figure out what's next. You know what I mean? I'm jumping into what's next. I'm excited going into what's next and new. I'm just sort of embracing all of what life has to offer.”
Look out for Gabrielle in the upcoming indie film Riff Raff, which is a crime comedy starring her and Jennifer Coolidge, and she will also produce The Idea of You, which stars Anne Hathaway.
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Feature image by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images
When I came across a way to maximize the pleasure I receive from cunnilingus (already), I had no choice but to tap in. Who knew the key to taking oral sex to new heights was giving it a sideways twist? For those of you who might also be interested in ways to spice up the way you do oral, experience faster and stronger orgasms, or simply want to indulge in something new with your partner, the Kivin Method could definitely be the oral sex technique for you, too.
Keep reading to learn about the method that is sure to have you writhing in ecstasy in no time at all.
What Is The Kivin Method?
For the uninitiated, the Kivin Method is an oral sex technique that focuses on stimulating the clitoris from a different angle. Dubbed “sideways oral” by some, this method involves the action of giving head from a side-to-side movement as opposed to the up-and-down motion that people typically perform when giving head. (If you need a visual, this illustration is helpful.)
The difference in approach as you’re receiving head can be a game-changer in how you receive pleasure. Not only does the giving partner have access to the clitoris, but they can also access more easily the vulva and the labia, which are objectively a bigger focus in this version of cunnilingus. More access means wider coverage, and that, plus the new sensation of oral from a different angle, can heighten the way you experience oral sex that much more.
Where more pleasure flows, intense orgasms are sure to follow.
Getty Images
How To Do The Kivin Method
If you want to know how to do the Kivin Method, it’s actually pretty straightforward. The receiver lays on their back while the giver positions themselves perpendicular to the receiver. Their head will be facing the vulva, but instead of vertical, their face will be horizontal to the vulva.
From there, the giver can get to business, ensuring that they keep their head perpendicular to the receiver’s vulva while working on their craft. Because this technique can be more intense for some receivers, start slowly by stroking the vulva and clitoris sideways with the tongue, and allow sensations and communication from the receiver to be a guide of what you need more or less of with the Kivin Method.
Ultimately, the Kivin Method allows experimentation and unlocking what pressure, rhythm, and tricks work best for the giver and the receiver. Try implementing a finger or two, or adding a sex toy to the mix to intensify the act even further.
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Featured image by Delmaine Donson/Getty Images
