CLEVELAND — Muhammad Edwards is on a mission. His goal is to eradicate the term "food desert" from Cleveland's neighborhoods and he's fighting towards that goal by providing healthy alternatives through his Fawaky Burst Juice Bar and Cafe.
"I went to high school and college in Miami, Florida. Training, working out, this was part of our lifestyle [and] eating healthy was accessible. When I moved here to Cleveland those options [weren't] as accessible so I decided to create my own lane."
Opening his first location in 2014, Edwards recalls that there was an immediate response.
"I would have a little tent set up and I would do fresh watermelons, fruit cups and I would sell them to the people and that took off," he said.
Edwards quickly expanded his mission - opening locations in Summit Mall and Mentor Mall, before realizing he needed to go back to his original goals.
"I had to double back about the mission of Fawaky Burst," he said. "I wanted to come to these neighborhoods and provide healthy options with herbs juices smoothies and healthy eats so that's what made me want to intentionally come back to the neighborhoods that don't have healthy options."
But Muhammad also realizes that access to healthy food alternatives is only half of the battle.
"For many communities there are long-held eating habits that need to be examined," he said. 'If we grew up going to the cookout and [making the best] chitlins... we know that it's going to get passed down so when you eat healthy you break those generational curves when you put the good things into your body it's definitely going to help us live longer.
And now with three locations and a fourth on the way, Muhammad is ready for the New Year - providing healthy options to communities that need them.
"It's challenging but I'm up for the challenge. This is what I'm called to do this is what I asked for and my prayers and in my dreams so I have to see it through."