Local brings easier access to healthy food source

It's a light Saturday at "It's My Own" organic health food store at 3227 Brinkley Road in the Rosecroft Shopping Center, Temple Hills. The regulars picked up their organic groceries for the week. Store owner Erica Harding-Walcott assisted new customers that trickled in to purchase energy drinks and natural supplements.Even though "It's My Own" organic food store sees more than its fair share of slow days, owner Harding-Walcott is determined to keep it open. For her, the battle for the health of the Black community is worth fighting and winning.

One thing Harding-Walcott is certain of is that there are African American vegetarian, vegan and raw food lovers in Prince George's County. Many spend time and money on long trips to large-scale organic food chains to find the items they need. Some even resort to buying products from anonymous vendors online.

This shouldn't be so, she said with a twinge of disappointment in her voice.

"Health food lovers shouldn't have to drive all the way to DC, Northern Virginia to buy groceries," she said.

At "It's My Own", residents can find healthy food options, quality, affordable products, and a forum to ask questions and share ideas," Harding-Walcott said.

She is urging those interested in organic foods and supplements to visit her grocery store or web site, www.itsmyownhealthfoodstore.com, which she says are dedicated to serving the needs of Prince George's County's growing health conscious community.

"I don't bring anything in my store that I wouldn't use for my kids," said Harding-Walcott who has been a vegetarian for more than 20 years.

Harding-Walcott's inspiration for It's My Own came right out of her experience as a vegetarian. To get the staples for her family, she had to travel out of Prince George's County.

"That was my main motivating factor," she said. "I would travel 45 minutes, one way, to get the groceries I needed. After you factor in another two hours actually shopping, a trip to the grocery store would turn into a two or three hour ordeal!"

One day, she was cleaning up in her home when she stumbled on a business plan she had written 20 years previously when she was a young student at Howard University where she majored in communications. That fateful encounter led Harding-Walcott to toss her 14 years at NPR into the wind. That's when she decided to nurture her desire to be her own boss.

"I started meeting people in the business and it just felt kismet," she said.

That was three years ago, and now Walcott is glad she is able to provide a business so greatly needed in the Temple Hills area. Items in the store include Chinese herbs, non-dairy vegan cheeses, bulk grains, rice and soy milk, red yeast rice and agave- an all natural sweetener. All food products sold in the store are antibiotic and gluten-free foods, authentic and USDA certified organic, kosher and non-genetically modified. The store also carries homeopathic remedies and all natural beauty products such as hair and skin care items.

"It's My Own" isn't like other organic food stores that just sell products. Harding-Walcott also sees her business as an educational center. She hopes to soon offer educational seminars focusing on children's health, nutrition, vegan and vegetarian cooking and the environment.

"In our community, there still is a need of education in terms of healthy eating, healthy living practices, diet and exercise," she said. One afternoon this summer, she hosted a vegetarian cooking workshop which she hopes to turn into a regular feature.

"Studies are showing that food has so much herbicide, pesticides and fillers in it," Harding-Walcott said. "Children have more allergies and cases of asthma, and adults are suffering more and more from high cholesterol and diabetes. Much of this can be attributed to lifestyle choices, but it also is through processed food choices."

"It's My Own" also participates in a produce co-op. With a yearly membership fee of $35.00, participants have access to a box of fruit and vegetables picked no more than three days before on a local Chesapeake 100% organic farm.

"I want to make this store is a community effort. We just need more participants so that costs can stay low," said Harding-Walcott. "My hope is that people will find that I'm here and that they'll be encouraged to join the cooperative and be a part of this community and its wellness.