Future at Heart

Arroz rojo. Tinga. Pupusas. Nan. Food is a vessel for stories, culture, community, and connection. In New York City, Edible Schoolyard NYC makes these lessons bite-sized through its garden and kitchen classes at public schools across the city. In this episode, we meet Fabian Moreno, a cook who is using international cuisine to create understanding and community in the classroom. Future at Heart is a podcast by Target about people and organizations who are fighting for a better future.

Gregory Bruce had a successful career in advertising and PR until tragedy struck and changed the course of his life. In this episode, we see how a chance encounter with the Food Bank for New York City saved Gregory’s life and created the foundation for an online hand-crafted bow tie business. Future at Heart is a podcast by Target about people and organizations who are fighting for a better future.

It’s hard enough for many families to get their bills paid. And depending on what neighborhood you grew up in, it can be even harder. In Minneapolis, the Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON) is fighting to create opportunities in its own backyard to help people create better lives for themselves. In this episode, we meet Jasmine McConnell, a North Minneapolis resident whose natural hair journey inspired a line of beauty products that is helping change the way people see her community.

Public spaces are fundamental to how we experience life in a community. In South Florida, the Miami Foundation and Target have teamed up to offer a unique program that engages everyday people to create new public spaces and cultivate their communities. In this episode, we meet Danielle Bender, bee enthusiast, whose unconventional public beehives are bridging differences and bringing people together.

In this episode we travel to Houston, Texas, to meet Hector Avila. Growing up in the East End, Hector had trouble finding a safe, usable soccer field where he could play with his friends. Now he’s helping the US Soccer Foundation and Target transform unused urban land into safe soccer play spaces for the community.

Kids with disabilities sometimes need adaptive clothing to meet their needs -- whether it’s smooth seams, g-tube access, or wide pant legs. When Mari Anderson, a technical designer at Target, heard about this need, she immediately thought: How can I help? In our first episode we travel to Minneapolis to meet Mari, as well as Kris and Bentley Erickson, a mother and son who’ve inspired Mari’s work.

Target is collaborating with people across the country who are making change and these are some of their stories.