Neighbors Project

by Rachel Weidinger

I came across the Neighbors Project through a promotion for their fundraiser for their Food & Liquor project. A slick version of the Dean-campaign popularized house party fundraiser, the Bodega Party in a box comes with invites and a cookbook filled with recipes inspired by contributor's corner stores.

UPDATE: Buy the Bodega Party In A Box here.

The Neighbors Project has a number of guides on Instructables, including How to Increase Produce in Your Local Corner Store. One of the reasons I chose my current house in SF's Mission District is the proliferation of veg stocking corner stores.  How many places get a corner store that stocks milk in returnable glass bottles?

Despite my beloved corner store and pre-existing connections to two neighborhood groups I'm really only feeling connected to my neighbors after a year an a half of living on my block.  The Neighbors Project has an inspiring mission that will hopefully help people feel at home faster:

Neighbors Project is a growing movement of a generation of people living in cities who want to connect with their diverse neighbors to improve the neighborhood for everyone. The movement was started in fall 2006 by a group of friends who were concerned about both the increasing polarization of our country due to expanding suburban sprawl and the polarization in our city neighborhoods due to increasing gentrification. We looked around at our friends in our 20s and 30s and realized that many of us are actually ready, willing and able to help bridge those divides, but they needed a push. So we formed Neighbors Project to help people do what they already seem to want to do: Enjoy our neighborhoods while simultaneously making them -- and the country -- better for everyone.