THE CHRC
See Opinion/Forum pages on A6&
Volume 46, Number 7
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
THURSDAY, October 17, 2019
75 cents
Forsyth Seafood fights for East Winston
USDA change threatens EBT authorization for fresh fish.
BY BRIDGET ELAM
THE CHRONICLE
“Another .fight.”
Those were the words of
Virginia Hardesty, owner
of Forsyth Seafood.
The fight she is
speaking of is with the
United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA)
and its recent changes to
SNAP benefits (formerly
known as Food Stamps).
In September 2018,
the USDA amended the
retailer eligibility criteria
for restaurants. The new
statute reads: Restaurant
firms with more than
50% of their total gross
sales from hot and/
or cold prepared foods
not intended for home
preparation or home
consumption (including
prepared foods consumed
on the premises or sold for
carryout) cannot accept
EBT payments. This is
known as the “Restaurant
Threshold.” Technically,
the Restaurant Threshold
rule excludes Forsyth
Seafood from being
authorized to accept EBT
purchases. By losing Food
and Nutrition Service (FNS
[USDA]) authorization
to accept SNAP (EBT),
an already underserved
population would be
further marginalized.
For Forsyth Seafood,
this is a technicality
they are working hard to
overcome. As many may
be aware, there are two
sides to Forsyth Seafood.
, Photo by Bridget Elam
Virginia Hardesty and Ashley Hardesty Armstrong, proprietors of Forsyth Seafood,
fight to keep EBT authorization.
One side is the fresh
market store and the other
is a 100-seat restaurant.
The fresh market store
currently accepts EBT.
However, because the
restaurant provides cooked
food that contributes
to more than 50% of
sales, Forsyth Seafood is
ineligible to receive EBT
payments on the fresh
market side.
Not being able to
accept EBT would be
a significant hit for the
establishment. “We would
lose about 30% of our
business,” said Virginia
Hardesty. “That’s the
make-or-break number.”
There are certain
exceptions available
under the Restaurant
Threshold rule, one being
if the restaurant is in a
food desert (FNS 7 CFR
§ 278.1). East Winston is
considered a food desert
and Forsyth Seafood is
in the middle of East
Winston. So, it’s possible
Forsyth Seafood can keep
their authorization under
the exception clause.
They have filed the
paperwork. Hardesty
hopes the appeal will be
accepted and they will
continue to serve some of
their most loyal customers
who frequent the fresh
market store.'
“People’s access to
fresh food is very limited
already. It’s devastating to
many of our customers,”
Hardesty said.
Ashley Hardesty
Armstrong, who is the chef
of Forsyth Seafood and
founding chef and curator
of The Table Experience,
mentioned that the change
would not only affect the
business’s bottom line, but
those who have become
like family as well.
“It would be really
unfortunate if people in the
area don’t have access to
whole foods. We’ve been
supporting fishermen in
the Outer Banks of North
Carolina for 35 years,
buying directly from them.
If this [EBT authorization]
goes away, they can’t
support their families,”
she continued. “Not to
mention the employees,
their hours would be cut.”
With the thought of
having to do away with
the fresh market side of
the business, Hardesty
and Armstrong remain
hopeful.
“It’s encouraging
to have the support of
Virginia Foxx, Alma
Adams and Dr. William
Barber,” said Hardesty.
“They have helped us fight
this issue.” In addition,
Hardesty said they have
received support and
valuable resources from
Derwin Montgomery,
Richard Burr, Lafayette
and Sandie Jones (SMSI
Marketing) and Womble,
Bond, and Dickinson,
LLP.
Forsyth Seafood has
been in business since
1984 and is a staple in the
East Winston community.
They have been
instrumental in supporting
East Winston by
sponsoring various little
league teams and other
community events. This
time, Hardesty asks the
community to help them
by contacting their elected
officials and asking them
to get behind them and
support their fight for EBT
authorization.
“Food stamps are key
to providing fresh food
to many people in the
East Winston area where
young people are trying to
take care of their families
and the elderly are just
trying to make ends meet.
Forsyth Seafood serves a
purpose in East Winston
and Winston-Salem. In
this fight, we hope the
USDA will enable Forsyth
Seafood and its employees
to continue that purpose,”
said Hardesty.
The USDA’s decision
about Forsyth Seafood’s
retailer eligibility is
expected in the coming
weeks.
New daycare opens in Winston-Salem’s East End
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
At a place in time where
infants can operate the
latest version of the iPhone
before they can spell their
names and seeing children
playing outside is rare,
My Little Genius’ Child
Development Center is
looking to go back to the
basics when it comes to
education of our youth.
“You look at what’s
happening in schools now,
one of the big things they
talk about is the children
can’t read or write and part
of the reason for that is
we’ve become dependent
on technology,” said Dr.
Tony Burton, My Little
Genius’ founder and chief
executive officer.
“One of the things
we’re trying to do here
is bring back
the basics
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so our children have the
foundation they truly need.
We’re going to teach them
how to write using the
three lines; we’re going to
teach them about reading.
We’re going to teach them
about going outside and
playing in the dirt.”
Burton, who earned
his doctorate in education
administration from
Columbia University,
is no stranger to the
early education scene
here in Winston-
Salem. For more than a
decade, Burton served
as CEO of Northwest
Child Development
Centers (NWCDC) Inc.
of Winston-Salem, a
nonprofit founded in 1970.
As CEO of NWCDC,
Burton was responsible for
leading and coordinating
activities for four different
childcare centers including
MudPies Downtown
East, which was located
downtown until it was sold
in 2018.
Burton said after years
of working in education,
he started to realize that
kids don’t know how to
play and interact with
each other anymore. He
said My Little Genius’ is
about getting back to the
grassroots of learning,
communicating and
working with others.
“We’re looking to go
back to the grassroots,”
Burton said. “Our children
don’t know how to go
outside and play anymore.
They know how to do a lot
of things with computers
and cell phones, so I saw
this as an opportunity to
give children a chance to
go back and grab what
they really need.”
Located at 1000 East
Fourth Street, My Little
Genius’ offers child
development for ages
birth-12 years. My Little
Genius’ will also offer
after school care for older
children. The classrooms
throughout the building
are separated by age and
each classroom has age
appropriate items designed
to help children develop.
There are separate
classrooms for infants,
two-year-olds, three-year-
olds, four-year-olds, and
five-year-olds.
Burton said
everything is up
once
and
running, My Little Genius’
will be unlike any other
childcare facility in the
area. Along with learning
the basics of reading and
writing, Burton also talked
about introducing children
Submitted photos
A young man enjoys some playtime at My Little Genius ’Child Development Center.
to farming, yoga, live
science projects, animals,
and much more.
“When I was growing
up, my mother would put
us outside in the morning
and we would stay out all
day. And we didn’t have
a whole lot of things to
play with, we made things
to play with,” Burton
continued. “We had to go
out and be creative ... but
we’ve gotten away from
that. But what we’re trying •
to do here is go back and
pick up some of those
things that help kids be
kids.”
While giving the
grand tour of the facility
last week, Brittani M.
Williams, center director,
said her goal is to create as
many positive experiences
for the children and their
families as possible. She
said it’s important to
provide support for the
entire family because
learning has to happen
outside the classroom as
well.
“We only have them
about eight hours out
of the day. If there’s
not a connection with
the family, then it’s not
really a connection at
all,” Williams said. If the
family isn’t on board,
there’s going to be conflict.
The family is primary and
we’re secondary; however,
to create a fostering and
nurturing environment, we
need to have the families
involved as much as
possible.”
According to Williams,
parents are welcome to
visit their child at any time
throughout the day. My
Little Genius’ also offers
an app that will allow
parents to see what their
young geniuses are doing
at any time.
When asked what
sets My Little Genius’
apart from other childcare
See Genius on A8
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Saturday, November 2nd, 2019 @ 7:30PM
Sunday, November 3rd, 2019 @ 3:30PM
RJ REYNOLDS AUDITORIUM
301 N. HAWTHORNE RD. WINSTON SALEM, NC 27104
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336-727-^36 or www.wsfaiigrounds.com
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