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Signing On: Getting the Best Agency for Your Buck

Things to consider when hiring an agency for the first time

Hiring an agency

How $20, a pair of boots and a letter changed my worldview

how a simple interaction changed perspective

how $20 changed perspective

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Facebook: Marketing Love Songs

love songs that explaing real-life situations

Valentine's Day Love Songs

how to use prose as inspiration for copywriting

Copywriting 101

‘Twas the week before Christmas over here at Black Sheep
Where carols were playing over loud email beeps
The lights were all hung reminding us to be cheery
But with much to be done, we started to grow weary

The clients were restless, hoping to check out soon
As the Black Sheep worked hard by the light of the moon
One last release, a few more lines of copy
We had to act fast, but we couldn’t be sloppy

Then, in a twinkling, we heard something outside
A fat man in a suit hollered, “Hop in my ride!”
We looked at each other, not sure how to respond
But he seemed pretty nice, so we shrugged and jumped on.

He yelled “Ho, ho, ho!” but it wasn’t offensive –
And somehow, we all felt less apprehensive
But where were we going? And would there be elves?
We couldn’t help wondering in spite of ourselves.

This ride, how mysterious! This old man, how hairy!
As we sped through the night, we felt twinges of merry
We noticed that time was no longer an issue
And as we turned a corner, St. Nick passed a tissue

On South By, On TEDx, on Creative Mornings and tweeting
On press conferences, clippings, on last-minute meetings
Viewing the past year with this red-clad historian
We sped through the year on his festive Delorean

He spoke not a word, as we flew near Downtown
Then over to Montrose, soon we were Heights-bound
As we saw all the things that inspire Black Sheep
That old guy was right, we all started to weep

But the tears were not sad ones, no they were quite happy
(and readers, we’re sorry, this is where things get sappy)
For a very brief second we’d let our brains forget
That the things we accomplish are worth all the sweat.

That all the experiences – big ones and small
Are really the very best present of all
And ideas, like popcorn exploding in our heads
Are better than mistletoe and a warm bed

Feeling revived and ready to spring into action
Santa dropped us off, smirking with satisfaction
But as we opened our laptops, we heard o’er the roof
“Happy holidays, Sheep!” and we all raised a hoof.

You see, we thank Santa for showing us how
All it takes is remembering what came before now
But when making a list of the naughty and nice
There’s no doubt that old man will be checking it twice

We left him a gift – to remember the night
And pasted our logo in very plain sight
On the door of his shiny time-traveling sleigh
We couldn’t resist – it’s the true Black Sheep way.

Despite our rebellion, we hope you all know
How much you have helped this ol’ company grow
Each time we make toasts to celebrate this season
We hope that you realize that YOU are the reason.

New year goals

Don’t Speak: The Top Four Ways to Brand a Body (Without a Hot Iron)

Different ways marketers can show brand loyalty

Top Four Ways to Brand a Body (Without a Hot Iron)

Coffee Talk: Ellipses— Fascist Punctuation of Insipid Insult?

Ellipses etiquette

Penguins, Monkeys and How to Leverage Your Business

leveraging your business

Remembering the successes and failures of Steve Jobs

Remembering Steve Jobs

Rage Against the Hipster Music Blog Machine

Hipster music trend

The Five Languages of Not Screwing Things Up With Your Clients

Lessons on maintaining a good relationship with clients

Keeping clients happy

Craft Punk: Why You Should Do It Yourself

Making something yourself over just buying it

Why you should do it yourself

Who Gives a $%#* About An Oxford Comma? We do.

Using the Oxford Comma

Best Practices for a case study

The Four Most Important People in Marketing

Understanding your customers and clients how to treat them

Different categories of consumers

Celebrating Dos Anos: Time Marches On to the Beat of a Different Drum

Black Sheep celebrates a second anniversary

Second year anniversary

Keeping the TEDx Spirit Alive” 99 Balloons is Nothin’

Keeping the TEDx Spirit Alive

No matter your impact space, the last few years have taught us that our causes are interconnected. Researchers are now dealing with what the White House calls “converging crises” across industries. As a purpose-driven organization, we’ve spent years discussing everything from environmental racism and climate change to education and housing. But until recently, we hadn’t yet looked into an issue that’s affected by all of the above: food insecurity.

Food insecurity affects millions of all ages and backgrounds across America, particularly impacting the BIPOC community and hitting kids especially hard after millions have lost access to free school lunches. 

The pandemic has only exacerbated the fragility of the inequitable American food system. In 2022, the Census Bureau reported a 41% increase in households saying they did not have enough to eat after Congress stopped pandemic relief programs. 

That's over 40 million people who are experiencing hunger—or the fear of hunger—on a regular basis. With rising food and housing costs, that number is only expected to grow. 

Food insecurity is the lack of consistent access to enough nutritious food to maintain an active and healthy life. This can include not having enough money to buy food, living in an area without access to healthy food options or experiencing disruptions in food supply due to natural disasters or other crises.

According to Feeding America, the causes of food insecurity are complex and include:

Systemic racism and racial discrimination

The devastating effects of food insecurity

Access to fresh, healthy food is a basic human need and a social determinant of health and wellness. Without equitable access, we see an impact on:

Health: Without nutritious foods, people are at an increased risk for chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart disease and mental health disorders—particularly as many turn to cheap, caloric-rich foods in lieu of fresh, prepared meals.

Education: Children who experience food insecurity are more likely to have lower academic achievement, be suspended or expelled and suffer from behavioral and emotional problems. 

Financial wellness: Food-insecure households often spend over 25% of their income on food, making it challenging to budget other expenses like housing, healthcare, education and utilities. This is more harrowing given that food-insecure households also spend more on healthcare due to their poor diet.

Words matter. Food deserts and food apartheid are related terms you have probably heard but are distinct concepts.

Food deserts refer to geographic areas where residents lack access to affordable, healthy and fresh food, often due to a lack of grocery stores or other food retailers. These food deserts can occur in both urban and rural areas and affect people of all races and income levels.

Food apartheid, on the other hand, refers to a systemic and intentional form of discrimination in the food system that leads to unequal access to healthy food based on race and income. This terminology recognizes that food access is not simply a matter of geography but a result of historical and ongoing inequities in the food system, including racism, poverty, and systemic inequality. 

There are organizations across most major cities to fight these issues, namely urban farms and dedicated neighborhood markets. However, given the multiple converging crises, issues like food insecurity are often overlooked in favor of more hot-button issues. That’s where all of us can step in.

What can social justice-minded people do to help solve food insecurity?

While food insecurity offers no easy solutions, there are many ways to get involved.

Poverty USA offers some smart systemic change recommendations:

Reduce food waste - we throw away 30% of the food we produce

Here are a few ideas you can engage with at the individual level:

Find your nearest co-op (like Plant It Forward) and volunteer and shop there

Call your representative to advocate for policies that support access to healthy, affordable food.

Support local farmers and community gardens

Educate yourself and others about the causes and consequences of food insecurity

Donate to organizations that are working to address food insecurity, such as Feeding America or the World Food Programme

Food insecurity is incredibly complex, but it’s one area we can actually make great progress on as individuals. Supporting these local, fresh food sources improves the entire community’s health—AND it means more delicious, interesting meals on your plate. That’s a win for everyone. 

What is food insecurity and what can we do about it?

Food insecurity is a complex issue affecting millions of Americans, with systemic factors like poverty, racism, and geography playing a major role, but there are steps we can take to combat it.

The Black Sheep blog is turning up the volume on community engagement, social media strategy, Houston happenings and what it means to lead a purpose-driven life.

The Black Sheep Agency | Social impact and nonprofit blog

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The Politics of Food Access