Profile draft - Melody Daacon

Sunglasses on and golden-brown hair flying, Melody Daacon – Mel - cruises through the farmlands just north of Kalamazoo, MI in a large green van.  Wind whips through the interior, almost drowning out the sound of the old tape playing in the tape deck.   The truck moves quickly past fields of corn and soybeans reminding Mel of her uncle’s farm nearby where she spent some of her childhood.  This is the area where she lived when she was younger, and where her mother still resides.  Mel considers herself a Kalamazoo native, even though she grew up just outside in the small town of Parchment.  Her father lived across the city in Portage and she made the trip back and forth many times.  She often went to college parties in the city,

Mel is now incredibly active in Kalamazoo community organizations, especially those relating to sustainable food, but back then she recalls just being a kid who liked sports and who wasn’t too concerned with how things like food systems worked.  When she graduated high school she wanted to leave Kalamazoo as quickly as possible, attending Central Michigan University for a bachelors in health administration. 

There, Mel met a guy that she had seen one night in high school at a college house party on Lovell.  They had talked for a little bit but nothing had come of it, until now.  The pair started dating, went on study abroad together in Norway, and were married soon after.  They both moved on to pursue higher degrees at Saint Louis University and eventually settled down in New Jersey.

Mel found herself working in New York City for the Health Department while her husband worked as a lawyer for a firm.  Her experience at the Health Department was stressful and degrading.  Every day she had to convince doctors to give them patients using all sorts of tactics, this is not what Mel had imagined when she said she wanted to go into health administration.  Gradually, Mel began to realize that she and her husband were different people than they were when they had met back in Kalamazoo and the relationship wasn’t working any more.  It was time to move on.

The marriage ended and Mel realized that she had nowhere to go except to the place that she had so readily left 10 years before.  She said coming back felt like, “being hugged by Kalamazoo,” it felt right.  An uncle who she had not known much during her childhood was terminally ill with brain cancer, so she moved in with him to be his caretaker in his final months.  The experience allowed her to get to know her uncle before he passed, and kept her busy, letting her move forward.

Mel pulls into the parking lot of Bacchus Wine and Spirits, fidgeting with her glasses, hair, and notebook.  She is nervous for the cold call she is about to make to the owner about having the store stock her pickles, Veggie Bites.  Mel has been working with the small business since shortly after she returned to Kalamazoo two years ago.  A family friend, Ron, owns the business, but Mel does most of the required work; including marketing, going to farmers markets, and pickling vegetables.  Mel pickles in a small room full of counters and several sinks.  All of the vegetables are delivered from Russell Farms in Parchment, and Veggie Bites is a local product and markets itself as such.

“I’m always nervous for the first minute or so and then everything is fine,” she says of making cold calls, “sometimes if I’m by myself, I’ll just drive away.”  This time, however, she goes in, introduces herself and asks for the owner.  He’s not there but she gets a business card and leaves a few samples for him to try.  The new owner is interested in local products, according to the ladies at the register, so Mel is hopeful she’ll get a call back.  Veggie Bites are already eaten by many people, although they may not know it, Bell’s Eccentric Café goes through about six large buckets per week, they pair them with each of their sandwiches.  Bronson Hospital also carries them in their cafeteria.

After the meeting, Mel hops back into her van, breathing more easily after the interaction.  She answers a phone call from someone asking about what grants the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail has applied for this year.  In addition to her pickling work, Mel works part time for the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail writing grants and doing social media.  She also does some bookkeeping for a local patent lawyer.  Mel considers this to be a semi-transition phase in her life still, but she loves every minute of it.  Setting her own schedule is something she was never able to do at the Health Administration and the change is freeing. 

In addition to her multiple part time jobs, Mel is a very active volunteer at the Kalamazoo Food Co-op and sits on the board of Fair Food Matters, a local non-profit focused on food sustainability and accessibility.  “This is the kind of town where you can do that,” Mel says, “that” being the ability to be involved in so many things and being very connected to the community. 

Ron, the owner of Veggie Bites, has been asking Mel to take over the business from him fully so he can move on, but she is hesitating.  She isn’t sure if she’s ready for such a time commitment yet, or if she’s ready to settle down.  Her boyfriend, Matt, the man who runs Kalamazoo Housing Co-op and she have decided to reevaluate in one year whether to stay in Kalamazoo or move on to somewhere new.  So though it might not be permanent, for now, Kalamazoo is finally home.