Considering that “Farm to School” programs are inherently preferable to cheap, nationally ubiquitous, lowest-common-denominator, packaged and processed food meal programs, which can contribute to obesity, depression, early onset diabetes, fatigue, malnutrition, and foodborne illness, and that Ari Stern’s Dinnerfix Pilot Program at Cradlerock Children’s Center has transformed the health (mental & physical) of not just the 87 children currently enrolled at the pre-school and daycare facility, as confirmed by Amanda Morton, the school’s Director, but also the health of the staff and families, Radiical Systems is interested in supporting this venture.

Dinnerfix, as mentioned above, is conceptually and materially successful, as the kids are healthier, happier, more energized, and more informed. Considering chronic absenteeism in schools across the country, and more widely, a physical and mental health crisis that can lead to pharmaceutical dependency and as we’ve seen far too often, school shootings, it has never been more important to nurture and foster a culture and framework of organic, sustainable, conscious, deeply integrated, healthy living from the earliest age possible. To be connected with the earth, the soil, the organic matter we put in our bodies; to discover how precarious, wild, fragile, and resilient nature can be, helps humans, especially children, develop a deeper appreciation for life itself. However, as mentioned in the case study, the Dinnerfix Pilot Program needs to scale beyond one school (hopefully to five) to be financially sustainable. It is not only important that Dinnerfix scale and thrive locally, in this case in Columbia, Maryland and other parts of Baltimore County including the inner city, but that programs like this become the norm nationwide. We believe the Dinnerfix model, especially the mutli-variant functionality of the commissary, can go well beyond transforming pre-schools, but can serve as the foundation for a healthier and happier country and global civilization.

Radiical Systems believes this transition towards farm to school adoption must be approached with an air of inevitability, and therefore, is interested in being a crucial investor in this model to scale. Though Dinnerfix is currently focused on pre-schools, as there is lower barrier of entry than the public school system, we believe all schools are ready and capable to adopt, and also, we feel the commissary itself can be utilized (maximized) as a hub for community rehabilitation, revitalization, and cultural transformation. Schools, public and private, are just the beginning.

The core underlying technology associated with Radiical Systems is the Stable Credit Protocol. The Stable Credit Protocol provides a mechanism for the creation and management of complementary currencies. What this means is, credit can be extended to parties that are unable to provide initial capital to partake in an ecosystem where goods and services are exchanged. These credits can also be used to subsidize expenses, as goods and services can be exchanged outside of standard fiat transactions. This is especially useful in areas within Baltimore County that are seemingly trapped in systemic cycles of poverty. Stable Credit could be helpful when affixed to systems that are successful in concept, but cannot initially cross over a crucial threshold that can lead to sustainability, especially considering that newer, safer, more sustainable models are usually more expensive than models or systems that are “institutional” or grandfathered in. This is true with “clean” energy as opposed to fossil fuels, for instance. Though seemingly more secure and usually cheaper considering relevant infrastructure has had years often to ingratiate itself, these outdated “status-quo” systems are usually rank with corruption, technological illiteracy, bureaucracy, corporate apathy, and greed, which leads to diminishing returns. Our children deserve better. Our collective future cannot afford it. Much of America’s food systems, especially in schools, are stuck in the mid-20th century. Breakfast, lunch, and whether or not families can even afford it; these conversations happening now in schools across the United States, are in many ways synonymous with diminishing returns. The entire education system suffers from this embarrassing degradation. Dinnerfix is the turnaround.

So how can Ari Stern and his Dinnerfix, this singular broker or middle-person between the farm and school, lead to the revitalization of a famously beleaguered city? How can this model be applied, not just to other beleaguered cities or communities, like Oakland or Detroit, but in cities that seem to be doing just fine? Moreover, how can investors, including Radiical Systems, which is itself a venture capital studio, see a return on investment? What is the financial incentive?

We believe the commissary is the answer. Or, to adapt Radiical Systems’ conceptual aesthetic; the “Commiissary.” A commissary is a store for provisions which can include prepared foods for eating either on-premises or off-premises. In the case of Dinnerfix, it is the provision hub between farm and school. Commissaries, like the 1,500 square foot commissary Stern uses (which is currently owned by William Burgess), are usually aligned with a particular organization, such as a mining operation, a steel mill, a corporate center, or a government or military unit, and is usually intended, primarily, for the use of employees. The commissary is crucial to many prisons, for instance, from the smallest county jail to the biggest federal institutions. Even New York State has a page on their government website highlighting the commissary’s functionality. Radiical Systems believes the commissary can monumentally disrupt, for the betterment of communities and the planet, how all Americans afford and secure healthy food.

Dinnerfix and The Commiissary Revolution:

Radiical Systems believes that true rehabilitation is essential to revitalization. Actual rehabilitation goes beyond time served or social etiquette training, and certainly beyond well wishes and thoughts and prayers; it requires safe, consistent, empathetic, resilient spaces and the development of real skills taught by equally resilient community members like Ari. These skills can be utilized “in-commissary,” and eventually, in the wider free and open market. There cannot be one without the other. With revitalization comes surplus, abundance, and profit.

With any system involving credit and subsidies, one must also interrogate the ability for all participants to remain in “Good Standing.” But how can participants in any Stable Credit or Mutual Credit system remain in good standing if they historically have not been able to generate capital to foster good credit or good standing within the fiat system? How can a system be sustainable if its user base, the individual, is herself not sustainable? What barriers must be surmounted to create a sustainable infrastructure? Investors, those with surplus or means, should not be on the hook in perpetuity to float or fund an unsustainable system. This always, always, leads to destabilization and the eventual collapse of the system, as well as a widespread climate of resentment, disillusionment, and cynicism that can stifle worthy and potentially effective future initiatives before they even start. We can (must) cover our bases.

“You cannot eat money.” This is a widely-circulated, ancient Native American proverb. Food and money have never seemed more real, urgent, and intrinsically linked in America since perhaps the Great Depression, which began in August 1929, when the economic expansion of the Roaring Twenties, much of it artificially inflated, came to an end. A series of financial crises punctuated the contraction. In November 2023, one must face the realization that the 21st century in many ways seems to bear a striking resemblance to the last century. This means that we might be skyrocketing directly towards a new World War. Infamously, it was the emergence of WW2 that pulled us out of the longest and deepest downturn in the history of the United States and the modern industrial economy in 1941. This means Americans can likely anticipate a lukewarm depression in the coming years, barring an overhaul of many of our current systems. We can’t keep kicking the can down the street. We can’t thrive on diminishing returns.

Total consumer debt balances increased to $16.38 trillion in 2022, according to the credit reporting agency, Experian. This rose again to $17.06 trillion in 2023, per the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This means that consumer debt balances increased by 4.15% over the past year. To this point, credit card debt has been rising at the sharpest pace of any debt covered in the aforementioned financial stability report by the Federal Reserve, said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst for Bankrate in a CNN interview from earlier this year:

“I think that reflects more people using credit cards to finance day-to-day necessities (although there’s also an element of people using less cash and more people using cards for convenience and rewards and paying them off right away),” he said, noting that Bankrate research shows that 46% of cardholders carry debt month to month, with 54% paying in full, Rossman said. Last year, 39% carried debt month to month. The primary culprits are inflation (real and artificial), spending increases since the pandemic and typical consumer behavior, Schulz said. Increases in credit card debt can either be a sign of confidence or struggle, he added. Both interest us.

However, It isn’t wise to simply sit back and hope for the best. We cannot rely on entrenched politicians and big corporations. That’s insanity. This is why Radiical Systems is “the answer before the answer.” We diagnose. We respond. We act. Now, without further ado, the model:

Radiical Systems invests in the financial gap needed to sustain the Dinnerfix Pilot Program for the first quarter of 2024 for $26,100.

During Q1, Radiical Systems administrators and managers will work to set up and implement the Stable Credit Protocol, which involves laying out the channels and baseline infrastructure that allow users and participants to not only engage with the protocol digitally and IRL, but more crucially, remain in good standing. Radiical Systems is currently developing the application (app) that will allow users to interface with the system, while providing and maintaining accountability. Radiical Systems will also work with Dinnerfix on a business plan that includes expansion to new schools and other clients, a larger commissary, and access to more grant capital infusions.

Why the introduction of Stable Credit Protocol? Why is it needed or useful?

1. Because, crucially, the current system is clearly not working for historically marginalized people in historically disenfranchised communities. This will allow participants and community members to extract value from the system without possessing the initial capital to do so.

2. The exchange (bartering as opposed to transactions) of goods and services outside of traditional fiat models can help reduce cost, especially labor costs, as users receiving credit in exchange for goods and services can offer their time and labor as a means to return to good standing. Their incentive is not just to remain in good standing, but to develop useful skills. This is helpful in respect to Dinnerfix, as the pilot is struggling to survive because labor costs are not being shared across multiple clients. A surplus of donated or volunteered personal time could allow new users, perhaps invited in directly by the surplus provider, to enter into the Stable Credit Protocol System. Good Faith in turn leads to Good Standing. This model, if managed and articulated correctly, can lead to greater community engagement and better overall health of the Stable Credit system. This leads to the greater health and rehabilitation of the community.

3. Stable Credit Protocol can expand into the wider community, involving countless citizens and numerous businesses. Within one year, Radiical Systems expects considerable adoption.

Why is the Commissary so important?

1. As mentioned above, the commissary concept and structure is adaptable to many industries and organizations. It can be anything really. Likewise, the problems facing communities in this country, especially in struggling cities like Baltimore, Maryland, are complex, compounded, and cut across industries. The commissary can adapt, expand, and include multiple components or purposes to address these multifaceted issues and an evolving complex of community needs. For Dinnerfix, it is simply the place where Ari and his small team receive, prep, process, and package fresh produce, which they send bi-weekly to Cradlerock Children’s Center (CCC).

2. Considering Dinnerfix’ popularity at CCC, we see no reason why Chef Ari Stern’s skills can’t extend out into the wider community, which means creating bi-weekly meal plans, not only for the childrens’ parents or guardians at Cradlerock, but members of the wider community unrelated to the daycare and preschool center. To be fair, “Dinner” is right there in the title.

3. Training. New users of the Stable Credit Protocol system (SCP) can report to the commissary and volunteer their time, while learning applicable real world skills, especially skills currently relevant to the Dinnerfix model, which involves all facets of food prep, food safely, and handling as outlined by the USDA and the Environmental Health Services (EHS), and general service and hospitality skills, including managerial training. These skills can also be transferable to organizations that work with Dinnerfix, like local farms or schools like Cradlerock, as well as local restaurants, groceries, supermarkets, food banks, nightlife and sports venues, and other businesses in food-related industries, which are numerous.

4. There are countless ways to partner with various government agencies to provide a service for rehabilitation. These include local unemployment agencies, and social services as they are tied to the formerly incarcerated, or other high-functioning individuals dealing with autism or other developmental disorders. (Stable Credit Protocol, as tied to the Commiissary, is the antidote to the endemic, vicious cycle. It is the definition of a healthy cycle. It provides resources and training with little barrier for entry. This is exactly what Baltimore, Maryland needs).

5. Receiving. The commissary should be a designated hub to receive all food waste and food surplus from nearby restaurants, supermarkets, groceries, stadiums, vendors, and farms.

Investment Incentive:

As more users enter into the Stable Credit Protocol system, the commissary will have to expand, not only in size but in quantity and location (jurisdiction). Ari’s current and only 1,500 square foot facility in Northwest Baltimore could still be a useful reviving hub for more intimate PTOP training, which could be entrusted to Greg Harden, one of Ari’s associates. A larger, more multifaceted and substantial commissary would allow Ari and Dinnerfix to maximize community impact. This sustainable model could be franchised out not just nationally, but globally.

If products are sold to the wider public, while the workforce is being subsidized by stable credit volunteers, the profits could be sizable. How to manage profits ethically and in good faith is highly important to Radiical Systems. Profits will initially go to securing various reserves and levels of assurance for the stable credit network, but all proceeds, after investors see their ROI, should go back into expanding the national “Commiissary” network. This also involves installing the Dinnerfix Farm to School program in new schools. With a greater workforce and better facilities, Dinnerfix can start working in the public school system, as well as universities, local corporations, government agencies, and more. As this network grows and spreads, we’re talking about the rehabilitation and revitalization of people and communities across the country and eventually, the planet.

Conclusion:

Start simple. We shore up a small group of participating vendors, beginning with willing parties connected to Dinnerfix’ current Pilot Program and then slowly grow the Stable Credit Protocol community and user base. This means reaching out to social services, collectives, community centers, and other non-profits across Baltimore County, including rehabilitated individuals looking to stay out of “the system;” that is, stay out of prisons and gang-related activities.

Pursue a multitude of grants, not only to fund Dinnerfix for the remainder of the year, but a commissary network capable of fulfilling Governor Wes Moore’s dream of a totally adopted Farm to School program and the complete revitalization of struggling American cities. This in-turn supports Michelle Obama’s concerns regarding obesity. Commiissary can adapt to include various other types of services as well.

Participating vendors will work with Radiical Systems to create a rubric for exchange, whether connected to a market basket or a slightly more abstract standard of value related to the corresponding goods and services. The app should allow for a clear and transparent metric for value exchange. It is essential that every component of the Commiissary network operates transparently and with a sense of reciprocity.