Auntie Na’s Village crowdfunding to build community kitchen, nutrition center

Sonia Brown, also known as Auntie Na, created a safe space for her underserved community on the west side of Detroit 10 years ago by opening up her family home. Now the nonprofit she created, Auntie Na’s Village, aims to further nourish the community with the Nutrition House, part of the interconnected network of houses that make up the village.

The nonprofit recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to rehab a vacant house next door to the original house on Yellowstone Street near Elmhurst Street. Building on its partnership with the Wayne State School of Medicine, which staffs a free clinic in an adjacent house that was once abandoned and has since been renovated by Auntie Na's Village, the nutrition center is a part of the nonprofit’s mission to provide a holistic approach to community health and combat food deserts in the city.

If the campaign reaches its crowdfunding goal of $50,000 by April 5, the project will secure a matching grant with funds from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Public Spaces Community Places program.

“We at Auntie Na's are extremely excited to be utilizing the [Public Spaces Community Spaces] program, which will allow us to complete the rehab and construction of our Nutrition House on Detroit's west side,” says Edward Ponti, a volunteer at Auntie Na’s. “Auntie Na has worked tirelessly for over a decade to provide essential family services to residents of her neighborhood on Detroit's west side, and the Nutrition House will be a major step towards realizing a wrap-around community wellness program.”

Public Spaces Community Places is a collaborative effort of the MEDC, the Michigan Municipal League, and Patronicity. Through the program, local residents can crowdfund and get support in the form of a matching grant from MEDC.

“Revitalizing neighborhoods is key to great placemaking,” says Dan Gilmartin, CEO and

executive director of the Michigan Municipal League. “This nutrition center will contribute to the health of the entire neighborhood as well as the people who are welcomed in by its community services.”

The Public Spaces Community Places initiative started in 2014 with MEDC providing matched funding of up to $50,000 for community improvement projects throughout Michigan. As of Jan. 31, MEDC has doled out nearly $7.3 million in matching grants.