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Small Wins: The Sustainable Farm, A Black Owned Business, Teaches The Importance Of Healthy Living

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A local entrepreneur is doing her part to teach the importance of healthy eating. Our latest Small Wins recipient is an entrepreneur who is teaching how to make healthier food choices and grow it yourself.

A big surprise for a special Small Wins recipient at the Reading Terminal Market.

"I'm not a person, all my friends and family know, I am not a person that is, like, lost for words," Christina McCoy, owner of Custom Cuisine LLC, said. "This is so much."

Meet Christina McCoy. She just won $75,000 to support her business, The Sustainable Farm by Custom Cuisine.

"The Sustainable Farm combines a lot of my favorite things; vertical farming, connecting people to food and sources of food, holistic products, and then supporting small local businesses as well," McCoy said.

McCoy's passion is cooking. Her skills as a chef turned her into the entrepreneur she is today.

"To work with some of the most expensive and exquisite foods but not have that translate to where I'm from and also not be able to take some of what we were actually using as waste, you know, to create ways where people could eat my limitations with being able to do that really hold it here," McCoy said. "It convicted me."

Christina made the decision to quit her job and bring her skills back to her West Philly community.

"Teaching people how to prepare food in healthy ways; what to look for, what is organic nutritional food, versus all the other labels that we put on food," McCoy said.

She started growing food herself using containers in her neighborhood's community garden and she created gardening events to teach the importance of healthy food choices.

Her shop in Reading Terminal Market uses smart gardening technology to grow edible plants and herbs.

You will also find farm-to-skincare products, DIY smart gardens and goods from other local Black women-owned businesses.

"I was just thinking about all of the things that this grant would be able to help me extend and expand stuff that I already do, like community popups," McCoy said. "I want to expand a lot on my teaching in the schools, continually sustain the operations that are here."

Christina also hopes to create easy access to growing equipment and continue to educate.

"It means that people are listening and I felt like really seen," McCoy said. "If you see some of these little doodles, my daughter did those. So you know, one day you'll walk in here and she's running the place. So I look forward to that."

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