Shining a Light on Health and Fitness in the South Side of Chicago
It does our Global Youth heart good when high school students find inspiration from our Future of the Business World podcast episodes. It was in a June 2023 comment on a past podcast transcript that we first discovered this month’s guest, Carter Chang. He wrote: “Alana, you emphasized and credited a lot of your success to your “fearless attitude.” I am in awe from hearing how an initial cold email leads to connections and partnerships. As an entrepreneur myself, I could not relate more.” And with that, we had to hear more about Carter’s passion for fitness and health — and the very personal family challenge that moved him to action. What are food deserts and food swamps and how do they relate to equity? What does it mean to scale an organization? How can research help to advance an entrepreneurial mission? Carter discusses all this and more in our latest Wharton Global Youth Future of the Business World podcast.
Be sure to click on the arrow above to listen to the podcast! An edited version of the conversation transcript appears below.
Wharton Global Youth Program: Hello and welcome to Future of the Business World. I’m Diana Drake with the Wharton Global Youth Program at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Global Youth’s mission is to connect high school students and teachers worldwide with the strength of Wharton’s business education. Our monthly podcast invites listeners into our conversations with inspiring young innovators; teens who love business and are figuring out how to channel their passion into changing the world.
Today, we continue to ride the wave of entrepreneurial students we met this summer during our on-campus and online business programs. Carter Chang, a high school senior from the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools in Illinois, U.S., studied with Wharton Global Youth in our Leadership in the Business World program. LBW students get the chance to pitch their business ideas to the class. It was there, as well as among the pages of our Comment and Win contest, that we began to learn about Carter’s fitness program Yeast Whey, spelled W H. E. Y.
Carter, welcome to Future of the Business World!
Carter Chang: Thank you so much for having me. It’s such an honor to be here.
Wharton Global Youth: Entrepreneurial thinking is often sparked by our surroundings and circumstances. Would you mind sharing what happened in your life at 14 that motivated you to embrace a healthier lifestyle?
Carter: Back in September of 2020, when COVID was still relatively new because we still had online classes, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. This diagnosis really sparked change in my life and had an impact on my family, because we had no previous family history with cancer. This correlation between cancer and our family’s nutrition and lifestyle habits had its impact on me and sparked a new side of me. I took charge of taking that role of deciding what goes into my family’s bodies and how we act around diet and exercise. Because it was quarantine, I had a lot of time to exercise and run. Feeling the impact of eating healthy and feeling these nutritional benefits from changing our diets allowed me to live out the benefits of running and feeling good and living a healthier lifestyle.
It wasn’t until late spring of 2021, when I recognized this appreciation that I have for this lifestyle. [It was] the end of ninth grade, when my mom beat cancer, and she beat cancer with this new changed lifestyle. I fell in love with the way that I felt and this whole new lifestyle that our family adopted. Ever since then, health and fitness have been consumed by me, and it has become a massive part of my identity. This love for health and fitness and the way it makes me feel is in essence at the core of Yeast Whey. Being able to provide that feeling and that opportunity of this healthy lifestyle to everyone.
Wharton Global Youth: Well, thank you for sharing that. And I’m very happy to hear that your mom is doing well. As you were just alluding to, your health mission went beyond you working out in the gym and planking for more than an hour at a time. How did you begin to use your growing health and fitness knowledge to help your classmates in your community?
Carter: Like I mentioned, health and fitness really did consume me. It was everything that was on my mind and truly I’d engage in every health and fitness content possible. When my friends would ask me what I’m doing today or how I’m doing, I just talked about the different exercises or things that I’m eating, and I tried to influence them to get on it as well. And it did work. I saw a lot of impact through my inner circle of my immediate family, my cousins and my friends who would ask me how I’m doing. A lot of people started to find inspiration from my lifestyle change and started to take care of themselves as well, which was awesome.
And then, in terms of the community, Yeast Whey started after I had had a lot of personal experience and appreciated the benefits of this new lifestyle. So, in essence at the core, it is always driven by the love and appreciation I have for this lifestyle. But I also recognized the lack of nutritional resources within my school community. In the Southside of Chicago, there aren’t many nutritional resources. And so, this community alongside thousands of other food deserts and food swamps in the world, really have it unfair. Being able to live out this healthy life and experience the different lifestyles that I was talking about is an unequal opportunity for communities within these regions. And so, I developed Yeast Whey to share this lifestyle to everyone, and I geared it towards kids.
Wharton Global Youth: What does Yeast Whey look like today? Tell us about it.
Carter: Yeast Whey has three core facets, the first one being the nutritional-education side. This is where Yeast Whey goes into local farmer’s markets and gives inspirational talks, engaging with community members. I found that being in a market surrounded by fresh produce, and the community market being in a central position of the community, really gives me the platform to influence children and influence people that walk by and introduce them to this realm of health and fitness and what it means to live a healthy lifestyle by eating healthy.
The second facet is the fitness-education side. This is where Yeast Whey holds semester-long courses in different charter schools and schools. This is all about teaching and influencing children on physical exercise and what it means to exercise outside, or just what it means to exercise and take care of your body. And then the third facet is the community-outreach side. Yeast Whey holds events that collectively engage the community, while shining a light on health and fitness.
Wharton Global Youth: I find it fascinating that your program is grounded in academic research. Can you tell us about your mentoring experience with your high school chemistry teacher, whom I guess was at University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, and how that fueled your mission toward Yeast Whey? And also, you later worked with a professor at the University of Chicago. How did that research enrich your enterprise?
Carter: In 10th grade, when we were back in person, I took an independent study with my chemistry teacher. In this opportunity, students are able to research a topic more in depth that they find interesting. My topic, of course, was the science behind nutrition and fitness. My chemistry teacher was the perfect person to find supervision from, as he had the background and he provided insight into the science behind different proteins, vitamins, minerals, etc. This science research side really contributed to the Yeast Whey curriculum, because when I was developing it in ninth grade, I first just used a lot of personal experiences. And that is truly a big part of Yeast Whey as well, because being able to influence children stems from being able to connect with them. And so, being relatable and telling stories is a big part of Yeast Whey, while also adding that science side to it added a lot to Yeast Whey.
In terms of the University of Chicago economics professor that I worked with, I actually interned under Economics Professor John List at the University of Chicago. Before this internship, what introduced me to Professor List’s work was his book, The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale. In this book, Professor List talks about how to scale a successful idea for impact. And he talks a lot about the different variables that go into successful scaling, while also covering variables that could potentially negatively impact your idea, such as false positives, or not knowing your non-negotiables. His book made me reflect on my idea of Yeast Whey. And he made me consider different aspects of my organization and different ways of how to grow my idea and impact as many people as possible.
For the work that I did under Professor List, interns were originally taught Stata and R coding, and we used this coding language to research case studies in the world. I chose to study the case where annual income levels were compared to the amount of cardio performed. My results really brought me back to why I started Yeast Whey to begin with, because my regressions and models output correlations that demonstrated how higher annual income levels had significantly more correlations with cardio performance. This encapsulates the issue that Yeast Whey is trying to solve, which is providing equal opportunity to all regardless of income level. This internship with Professor List showed me the economic side of what I’m trying to combat and, along with his book, really made me reflect on Yeast Whey.
“To me, entrepreneurship is the ability to bring an idea to fruition and impact people through it…Scaling my ideas and my positive experiences through my entrepreneurship is scaling a lifestyle.”
Wharton Global Youth: What do you mean by scale?
Carter: I mean reaching as wide of an impact as possible and reaching as many people as possible. The global issue that Yeast Whey fights is not just one unique in my community, but an issue that is in thousands of communities around the world. So, [it’s about] being able to scale and reach as wide of an audience as possible.
Wharton Global Youth: Particularly during the pandemic, but I guess in general, obesity has become a big challenge among today’s youth. What can you tell us from the frontlines of this fight? What are you seeing out there?
Carter: After the pandemic started to clear up, I saw a switch from the way children acted in the sense that during the pandemic, they were isolated. One of the primary ways that children are able to get physical activity is from group activities and team sports. And so, being isolated from this and being deprived of this, I saw an attitude of people wanting to go on their phones, or just do individual activities. That’s where Yeast Whey [comes in] — bringing that excitement and influence back into the child’s desire to move and get active. When I was teaching a course at Metrosquash (a Chicago organization that promotes fitness), I initially ran physical evaluations to see where all the students were. [I tested] pushups, squats and different other variables and how fast the students were. And so initially, one of the students was not willing to attempt any of the evaluation, due to their inability to complete any of these exercises. And by the end of the course, after all the different talks, activities, etc., this student was able to crush their evaluation. And the student was able to do over 10 pushups and 20 squats, which was truly incredible impact.
Wharton Global Youth: This summer in our Comment and Win contest, which you participated in, you said that entrepreneurship has the ability to scale a way of life. What did you mean by that?
Carter: To me, entrepreneurship is the ability to bring an idea to fruition and impact people through it. And speaking personally from Yeast Whey, that is, in essence, what I’ve done and I’m working to do. So, me scaling my ideas and my positive experiences through my entrepreneurship is me scaling a lifestyle.
Wharton Global Youth: How do you measure success? Do you feel you’re moving the needle on youth embracing a healthy active lifestyle? You gave that example before, but I’m wondering if you really feel as though you’re making a difference out there in the world?
Carter: Speaking honestly, the lack of resources for fitness and nutrition is a global issue that is too big for just one person to tackle. And so, I feel like this is where that scaling really comes in. And this is why scaling is super necessary in order to provide nutritional resources to all people. I measure success by just getting the child in the door and having them conscious of the world and the realm of health and fitness that’s out there and being able to introduce them to the initial parts and hopefully sway them in a way that they would hope to continue this lifestyle journey.
Wharton Global Youth: By lack of resources, you mean the food swamps and food deserts? Can you talk a little bit about that?
Carter: Food deserts are areas in which there is a lack of nutritional resources within a wide range of community. This is where it is difficult to access these different supermarkets or different opportunities for nutritional resources. Food swamps are where there is an overly saturated and over-concentrated area with many fast-food restaurants and just unhealthy restaurants. They are sort of “consuming” these healthy, nutritional resources that are more expensive than the cheap, fast, efficient McDonald’s, Taco Bells, Wendy’s, etc. The food swamps and food deserts that I mentioned are prevalent in the South Side of Chicago, where Yeast Whey is located. Seeing these issues, that is truly why Yeast Whey is trying to provide access to these different communities.
Wharton Global Youth: Let’s talk about the infrastructure of Yeast Whey. I think you have chapters in different states. Could you talk about that? Also, you’ve partnered with organizations to bring your fitness mission to the Chicago community. What does that look like?
Carter: For chapters, that really brings me back to scaling at the core of Yeast Whey, and the impact that I hope to make [through] scale. Both the chapters [are about] being able to integrate Yeast Whey into different Los Angeles markets. [These chapters] are all a part of this scale mission that I have for impacting children through Yeast Whey and [reaching] as many communities as possible.
[This] also connects to Organic Oneness, which is the Chicago nonprofit that I work with. A brief story to share about how I met Organic Oneness. So, Organic Oneness was on Channel Five news. And I saw Syda Taylor, the owner of this nonprofit. It was for their Martin Luther King Day Day of Action, where they painted murals in Chicago. They had so many volunteers come out that she had to turn people away. The amount of impact that Syda had with Organic Oneness has really inspired me. I went on her website, and I saw that she also fights for health and wellness, which is the thing that I’m so passionate about. Yeast Whey’s values really aligned with [those of] Organic Oneness. And the reason why Syda got into health and wellness to begin with is because she is a breast cancer survivor. And she felt the impact of health and fitness as well. So, I cold emailed her and we set up a Zoom meeting and we formed a connection. From there, we sat down and have held joint community events and community camps. Syda is a great connection to explore this realm of impact through health and fitness.
Wharton Global Youth: You mentioned LA for your chapters. Do you have others as well?
Carter: Los Angeles and New York are the areas [and Chicago]. The goal was for Yeast Whey to hit these three primary target cities.
Wharton Global Youth: As an LBW student, Leadership in the Business World, we know you love business. What has building Yeast Whey taught you about business, networking, innovating, all those things?
Carter: Definitely proactivity and advocacy. If you’re passionate about a belief, you should truly do whatever it takes to chase after it. In starting Yeast Whey, I was just a 14-year-old kid pitching my idea to give talks at farmer’s markets. And it sort of sounds suspicious [because of my age] from the point of view of a farmer’s market. I sent [more than] 20 cold emails, and it only took one response. And [with] that one response, I made sure [to go] out of my way to make as much impact as possible and show how passionate I am about this mission. I physically walked over a mile after school to their doors and made sure that I introduced myself and put a face to the name. It is that same advocacy that allowed for Yeast Whey to grow significantly by cold emailing Syda Taylor from Organic Oneness. So many opportunities have happened because of this advocacy and proactivity. I truly believe it is an essential tool for a future business student and anyone in life.
Wharton Global Youth: Help me and help our listeners. What is the best health and fitness advice you will leave us with?
Carter: Love what you do. I always say that you can’t follow a diet if you resent it and want to cheat on it every single moment. I used to have cravings as well. And whenever I would take a cheat day, I would feel so bad about myself and I would physically feel sluggish and tired and not good. That made me love what I do and love the way that I feel when I engage in this healthy lifestyle.
Wharton Global Youth: Excellent. I’m going to follow that. Alright, let’s wrap up with our lightning-round questions. Please try to answer these as quickly as you can.
Something about you that would surprise us?
Carter: I love to dance. I danced in front of my entire school for a speech I gave in seventh grade.
Wharton Global Youth: What kind of dance?
Carter: It was a hip-hop dance.
Wharton Global Youth: Your definition of a healthy meal?
Carter: a balanced plate of proteins, healthy fats, carbohydrates and fiber.
Wharton Global Youth: The last junk food you ate?
Carter: It was August of 2021. When we were dropping off my older brother, I had a burger from In-n-Out.
Wharton Global Youth: Wow, that is a long time. I’m impressed. A startup that really intrigues you?
Carter: Alana Andrews’s Swey.
Wharton Global Youth: Very good. She was a past podcast guest on Future of the Business World and now a Wharton student. What is the hardest part about being an entrepreneur?
Carter: Never having certainty on the outcome of an event or an action.
Wharton Global Youth: How do you define success?
Carter: Recognizing a goal and constantly working toward it to achieve it, or learning something from it.
Wharton Global Youth: You are starting your own business talk show, who is your first guest and why?
Carter: I’d have Professor List as my first talk show guest. He really taught me a lot about business and econ.
Wharton Global Youth: Great. Carter, thank you for sharing your innovative spirit on Future of the Business World.
Carter: Thank you so much for having me.
Conversation Starters
What does it mean to scale an organization and how is Carter Chang achieving this goal?
In what ways did academic research help to inform Yeast Whey’s mission?
Do you live in a food desert or food swamp? How does this impact your nutrition and decision-making? Tell us your story in the Comment section of this article.
Although it might not appear in a medical textbook, my definition of fitness is the body’s ability to support and facilitate the goals of an ambitious, healthy mind. Carter’s final fitness advice (“love what you do”) perfectly captures this necessary balance between the strength of body and mind, making his wholesome, honest approach to promoting healthy lifestyles commendable. The aspect of Yeast Whey that resonates with me the most is its focus on young, impressionable individuals, to whom proper nutrition and fitness education could mean the origin of behaviors that last a lifetime. Yeast Whey’s initiatives underscore the importance of having a strong support system in an age when nutrition and fitness are difficult to navigate alone. Personally, my grandmother has supported my health journey for as long as I can remember, and she has significantly influenced my love for eating healthy and being active. One part of my childhood that I will always remember is the particular “vegetable song” she used to sing as she cooked, which was passed down to me as a memory of her childhood in her home country, Bulgaria. With colorful ingredients and all the utensils known to man at her fingertips, she is still up for new, healthy combinations, making each meal we share a flavor-packed adventure that adds to my understanding of fitness. Like most journeys, my engagement with fitness has had its sour moments (which were not all related to a poor cooking experience); however, I always had the support of my family to recharge, refocus, and get back to doing what I love. Although Carter may be correct that tackling the global lack of fitness and nutritional resources is too large a task for one individual, his entrepreneurial spirit demonstrates that it is not an impossible mission to start. Yeast Whey and other like-minded organizations demonstrate how the perseverance and advocacy of a smaller group of strong individuals have the potential to transform healthy living into a shared global experience.
I felt very inspired after reading about Carter Chang’s health initiative. More specifically, I admire Carter for transforming an adverse situation into the catalyst for lifestyle changes in his own life and in the lives of others. Following his mother’s breast cancer diagnosis, Carter became increasingly motivated to enhance his personal health as well as the health of his family. After that, he established an organization that is increasing awareness of the importance of nutrition and physical activity, event by event and lesson by lesson.
Thanks to Carter, I feel inspired to workout on a more frequent basis and eat more nutritious foods. I often read articles and view news about individuals who lost a healthy amount of weight or experienced some other major improvement to their wellbeing. However, Carter’s story inspires me the most because 1) he is a young entrepreneur who has not let his age deter him, 2) his philosophy is rooted in academic research, and 3) he advises people to “love what you do.” This means that you should be fully dedicated to your healthy lifestyle and in doing so, you will learn to enjoy and appreciate it.
Furthermore, I feel more inspired to serve as a model for members of my family struggling with their health. I want to improve my lifestyle to not only better my health, but to show my family members that it is often possible to rewrite the destiny our genes have seemingly coded for us. For example, Type 2 diabetes runs in my family but with preventive measures, I can likely avoid it. It is important to note that individuals can develop conditions that do not run in their family. For instance, Carter’s family had no previous occurrences of cancer. Therefore, people should not surmise that they cannot develop certain conditions, merely because they are not prevalent in their family’s medical records. Cancer does not run in my family but that does not mean that I am somehow immune to it.
I live in a suburb of Wilmington DE, around fifteen minutes away from the downtown area. Compared to major American cities, Wilmington is miniscule with a population 37 times smaller than that of Chicago. However, the problems facing Wilmington’s inner city population are virtually the same. According to Fossi et. al. (2019), Wilmington and some other locations in Delaware have a high percentage of overweight adults. This same study concluded that Wilmington is in dire need of more grocery stores in close proximity of low-income residents and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients.
I was especially pleased to learn that Carter’s initiatives – especially fitness education courses – target children and adolescents. In my AP Research course at school this past year, I performed a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of pediatric obesity management apps. Through my research of the problem, I found that obesity in childhood is a widespread issue that has lasting implications, because it often continues into adulthood and increases the risk of several other health complications. Many of the apps I examined adopted multifaceted approaches, combining coaching, lessons, and parent engagement. Likewise, Carter’s intervention consisted of nutrition education, fitness education, and community outreach.
Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8352426/
Carter Chang’s interview on the “Future of the Business World” podcast was an absolute game-changer for me! It was like a deep dive into the secrets of scaling an organization to have a meaningful impact. Carter’s journey with his initiative, Yeast Whey, which focuses on promoting health and fitness within underserved communities, particularly struck a chord with me. Carter’s approach to scaling is nothing short of brilliant! He has managed to expand Yeast Whey’s impact and reach by connecting his personal motivations with a broader mission. Carter’s integration of academic research to substantiate Yeast Whey’s mission is a perfect example of the profound connection between theoretical knowledge and practical application. This synthesis enhances the credibility and effectiveness of his initiatives, making them not just inspirational but also practical and adaptable to the real needs of the community. It’s incredible how Carter used his personal challenges and academic insights as a springboard to drive change, emphasizing the importance of informed entrepreneurship.
I’ve lived in what might be considered a food desert, and it’s given me firsthand insight into how limited access to nutritious food options impacts community health. The prevalence of fast food overshadows the scarce availability of healthy alternatives, influencing dietary choices and overall well-being. Carter’s work is a great source of inspiration for initiating community-based programs that not only address these disparities but also educate and empower individuals towards healthier choices. Carter’s story is a vivid illustration of how personal passion, combined with a commitment to research and community understanding, can lead to significant entrepreneurial success. His narrative encourages young entrepreneurs to follow their dreams!
I’ve always admired individuals who have the drive to take a passion and create something more elaborate, and Carter perfectly embodies that principle. I would like to commend him for taking an intrinsic passion and developing it into an initiative that enriches his community. Passion and unique experience are essential precursors to tackling any wide-scale issue, as they are the catalysts of the two qualities that Carter champions so much – proactivity and advocacy. Due to his immersion in a nutritional lifestyle, he saw a different Chicago – a Chicago of unchecked food deserts and food swamps. Carter’s deep-rooted connection to nutrition has fueled his determination to make a substantial impact on the livelihoods of others, and I believe that should be the standard for similar organizations. When we have a genuine appreciation for an initiative, we dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to it and always approach the cause with a smile.
Moreover, there’s a personal reason why Yeast Whey’s mission means so much to me: I too have founded an organization named Move Beyond the Studio to improve the health of my community, and I know firsthand just how much effort and dedication it demands. Our mission for the past two years has been to teach yoga to the youth in New York City to promote an active lifestyle, and it has gone amazingly well. I first began practicing yoga for injury prevention purposes in my tennis practices, and what I initially considered a chore became an integral part of my routine that I genuinely valued.
Following quarantine, I noticed many of the same changes that Carter did – a lack of engagement with physical activeness. When I looked out at the parks and green spaces of my city, I no longer saw a New York brimming with joyful, active children. Increasingly, young people preferred to relax at home instead. Having experienced firsthand the mental and physical strengthening capabilities of yoga, I couldn’t help but feel excitement when envisioning the impact it would have on the youth around me.
As Ben Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” Instead of simply delivering a fun day of yoga, my philosophy has been to ensure that the children really comprehend what they are participating in and are enthusiastic enough to continue with it in their spare time and in the future. Carter’s concept of “scaling” especially held my attention and will take its place as the elusive term I’ve been searching for to describe my efforts. My proudest moments as a yoga instructor are when my students share their knowledge and newfound excitement with their friends – propagating the foundations of enjoyable fitness. And I would like to thank Carter for sharing the three core facets of Yeast Whey! The second core facet of fitness – education where Yeast Whey holds semester-long courses about exercise in schools particularly stuck out as something I would love to try implementing.
Having read Carter’s interview, I feel newly inspired to branch out and incorporate educational courses into my own health-focused nonprofit. Learning about Yeast Whey’s accomplishments has given me more confidence to develop my preexisting thoughts into concrete action plans, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to hear from another young person who’s navigating this complicated yet rewarding path.
With his passion for health and fitness, Carter intends to reach as comprehensive of an impact as possible and meet as many people as possible at the same time in order to spread the importance of health. He believed that Yeast Whey fights are not just one unique issue in his community but a prevalent global issue. So, he scaled his organization by reaching as wide of an audience as possible and maximizing its positive impact to benefit more people.
His academic research with Professor List was impressive. Not only did he gain so much knowledge in running an organization, but he also analyzed how his work can influence people in different aspects, including social, physical, and economic facets. The insightful point here was that annual income levels were compared to the amount of cardio performed. His egressions and models output correlations demonstrated how higher annual income levels had significantly more correlations with cardio performance. It was inspiring to see how his intention to improve people’s health and transform their lifestyle can further provide and exercise equal opportunity to all, regardless of income level. His research proved that he needed to look into the economic side of his endeavor and the additional values he created through his program.
While I was reading through the article, my craze with Kimbap occurred to me. While kimbap is a trendy food in the US nowadays among the MZ generation, for me, it has always been a fast choice for a student who doesn’t really have time to sit and eat throughout the day. Kimbap is a typical food in South Korea, and people can easily grab a variety of Kimbap from counters in convenience stores. If people in the States have burgers and burritos as their common fast food choices, Koreans have Kimbap as their go-to choice. Unfortunately, I recently suffered from food poisoning after consuming Kimbap, which passed its expiration date. Because the ingredients of kimbap go bad quickly, people can experience unexpected food poisoning when they have strong faith in food made with rice, a staple food for many Asian countries, overlooking its expiration date. However, the article made me realize how Korean students also need nutritious food that people can grab daily. Many Korean students stay outside after school to attend a series of academies (or cram schools) that they must ” tour ” daily. It is hard for us to sit and enjoy homemade slow food. Many students like me accept it as an ordinary life that we grab anything from convenience stores to fill our stomachs. According to Carter, food deserts are areas in which there is a lack of nutritional resources within a wide range of communities. This is where it is difficult to access these different supermarkets or different opportunities for dietary resources. Food swamps are where there is an overly saturated and over-concentrated area with many fast-food restaurants and just unhealthy restaurants. Many Korean students are exposed to a food swamp, where students like me have to consume fast food because markets are not seeking slow food to accommodate the needs and priorities of many middle and high school students. The only choices we have around our school and academies are fast food, and we have to accept food swamps as a part of our lives for more than six years. The consequence of living life out on those fast food from the counters of drug stores or fast food chains was the increased weight on the scale. And, I thought Carter might be very interested in scaling up his organization in South Korea as well, and my city could be included as one of his chapters. I will need a cold email from him, tho.
One thing that Carter said resonated in my mind: “Love what you do.” I think food is one of the hardest areas to apply what he said when I have to consume “healthy” but not “tasty” food. After indulging myself in instant Kimbop and bubble tea from my neighborhood, I had to go on an aggressive diet, live on my grandma’s homemade Kimbop when my colleagues were eating instant ramen on the tables of convenience stores, and cut all the sodas. It was hard to love the simple dish of my dinner. If students’ choices are not limited to food swamps, they may be able to enjoy their meal time more healthily and pleasingly.
Thompson’s dedication to creating accessible fitness programs tailored to the needs of his community, which underscores the importance of inclusivity in health and wellness, is particularly inspiring. No doubt Yeast Whey is already making a positive impact. Addressing the significant issue of health disparities in underserved communities has never been so pressing.
One potential enhancement to Thompson’s impactful initiative is the development of a mobile app that complements the in-person fitness programs. This app could significantly extend the reach and effectiveness of Yeast Whey. It could offer virtual classes that allow users to participate from the comfort of their homes, breaking geographical and logistical barriers. Personalized workout plans tailored to individual fitness levels and goals would ensure that each user receives the guidance they need to progress at their own pace.
For me, someone who is not necessarily passionate about the fitness lifestyle, but wishes to maintain good health, the hardest part about staying fit is the lack of motivation and support to maintain the required discipline. Incorporating a social feature could enhance the sense of community that young people wishing to improve their health habits usually need. Users could connect with each other, share their progress, and offer mutual support and encouragement. This virtual community would allow people to know that others are going through a similar journey with their health.
By leveraging the power of technology and community partnerships, Yeast Whey can be elevated to new heights, ensuring that health and fitness become even more accessible to everyone in the South Side of Chicago and beyond.
Carter Chang established Yeast Whey to benefit youth low-income families and people who live in food-swamp areas to lead healthy lives. To that end, he established Yeast Whey. From sharing how to work out to going to the farmer’s market, Carter has a positive impact on the world.
There are a few suggestions for Carter to improve Yeast WHEY and get one step closer to his goals. Since low-income families typically have less access to fitness, they may not have access to local fitness centers or be unable to afford to go to the gym. To supplement these issues, Yeast WHEY can possibly create a YouTube channel or any other social media platforms to provide instructions on how to exercise well in individuals’ homes.
In addition, Yeast WHEY needs a platform for people to buy affordable groceries to meet its fundamental goal of realizing equitable healthy diet and fitness for all. Carter has used the local farmers’ market as a platform to raise awareness of the importance of fitness to people. However, he may be able to use it as a means to provide affordable but healthy grocery options for people surrounded by food swamps and food deserts as well. This will not only benefit local farmers but also make fitness achievable for local residents.
Additionally, Yeast WHEY can donate fitness equipment such as yoga mats, resistance bands, or dumbbells to promote workout communities. However, more funding is needed to do so. I’ve noticed that YEAST WHEY has raised four grand to operate his business. However, I think it needs to establish more stable funding to make its system thrive. To that end, Yeast WHEY can broaden its donation options. For example, he can share stories that show how his business impacts the well-being of local people every week at the farmers’ market and provide opportunities for involvement. Besides the events that Carter held, events like walkathons, halfmile marathons, or Healthy Diet365 Days Challenges can help to draw donations and raise more funding. Collaborating with other food businesses that want to share a similar image to YEAST WHEY’s — health and fitness will help as well. To do so, Carter needs to execute marketing strategies to promote his business to the public by actively sharing successful testimonies and stories of people to be part of YEAST WHEY.
Yeast WHEY can create an application to help people manage their daily fitness and diet. By bench marketing a running application like RunDay, Carter may be able to create an application that supports people’s workouts according to specific sport types with his own voice explaining tips to help their workout. Carter can also differentiate his workout program according to people’s physical needs and priorities. For example, he can include workout plans gearing towards cancer patients and bring in emotional support while sharing his personal stories with his mom surviving breast cancer. This will truly empower people that they are not alone in this journey of fighting their current diseases and achieving healthy diet and fitness.
Lastly, Carter can promote building a community among Yeast WHEY members by creating events where members get together and share their successful life-transforming experiences with Yeast WHEY. It is important for people to take ownership of Yeast WHEY so that they continue to make a commitment to a healthy lifestyle. As more people build a sense of belongingness, Carter can expect to promote Yeast WHEY to more people by passing his invitation baton to people who can reach out to more people and draw more participation. This will further create a better community environment and bring in healthier food venues that further tackle the elements that contribute to forming food swamps and food deserts.
Assisting his mom in surviving breast cancer, Carter established Yeast WHEY as a business that would help people swamped in the republic of fast food and unaffordable healthy diets. Passing through the dark tunnel of the pandemic, people got used to an indoor dormant lifestyle, which only degraded their physical and emotional well-being. Through Yeast WHEY, Carter has been doing everything that it takes to get people to believe that a healthy lifestyle is what everyone can achieve and deserve. Carter has been educating people from diverse age groups about healthy diets and daily workouts and engaging his community to practice healthy lifestyles. Although Carter has already been making a difference in people’s hearts, minds, and bodies, I found several ways to innovate his business.
First, Carter is deeply dedicated to tackling the problem of low-level income, which means low-level fitness. Through Yeast WHEY, he intends to benefit youth, low-income families, and people isolated from healthy diets due to the influence of food swamps and food deserts. However, to further elevate his initiative, it is now essential to focus on providing affordable meal plans and diets that are easy to follow.
For many, prioritizing a healthy diet can be challenging when they are struggling financially. While Carter has made strides in promoting good eating habits, organizing events to educate people about the benefits of good nutrition could be highly effective. Collaborating with local farmers’ markets or community members to share homemade meal recipes and tips for creating healthy, delicious, and affordable meals would be beneficial. These events could demonstrate that healthy food can be just as enjoyable, if not more so, than junk food.
Additionally, Carter could offer cooking demonstrations to show how to prepare nutritious, inexpensive meals quickly. Establishing a YouTube channel for Yeast WHEY would be a valuable tool for continuously updating the community on available resources and providing ongoing support for healthy living.
In terms of personnel, Yeast WHEY needs to recruit people who excel at building rapport with the community, are knowledgeable in health and fitness, and, most importantly, are willing to listen to people’s stories and empower their hearts to transform their lives. If people take over Carter’s share of work at schools, community centers, or local farmers’ markets, Carter can reach out to more people and establish more chapters nationwide.
In addition, as Carter got help from Professor John List at the University of Chicago regarding scaling up a business, he can invite guest speakers to share their knowledge and expertise in fitness and healthy diets and stream it on YouTube or podcasts. Through these efforts, Carter can further empower individuals to make healthier choices, even on a tight budget, and enhance the overall impact of Yeast WHEY. Collaborating with local hospitals and inviting doctors from different medical fields can make the business more professional.
Additionally, Yeast WHEY needs a regular fundraising event to actively execute Carter’s goal of touching the lives of low-income families. Carter can collaborate with local social work organizations under the theme of Healthy Meals for Everyone while varying the locations of these events from a homeless shelter to low-income household neighborhoods. This can promote Yeast WHEY among local people and raise awareness of healthy meals for everyone, including the underprivileged population.
Lastly, I suggest Yeast WHEY create its own application and social networking platform where people can share their daily fitness and diet stories. The application should include functions for measuring the daily calorie intake of its users, the glycemic index of a choice of ingredient when cooking, and daily workout accomplishment. At the same time, the social networking platform can provide people with an online place where its members share their life stories, breakthroughs through Yeast WHEY, tips for cooking and affordable food markets, and most importantly, connect with people across the world who are part of international chapters of Yeast WHEY as it further branches out globally. These two crucial parts can keep Yeast WHEY members in the healthy loop.
As a final thought, I believe it is essential for Yeast WHEY to adopt Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into its business model. This summer, I learned about the importance of ESG at the Essentials of Finance program at Wharton Youth Camp. By incorporating environmentally conscious and sustainable meal plans, Yeast WHEY can educate people about healthy eating while also considering the needs of our current and future generations. This approach will ensure that Carter’s mission aligns with broader sustainability goals.
By implementing these strategies, Carter can enhance Yeast Whey’s impact, promoting healthier lives and stronger communities.
Carter Chang’s initiative with Yeast Whey is commendable, particularly in its focus on promoting health and fitness in underserved communities. But as with all great innovations, there will always be a way to take it a step further. To further enhance the impact of Yeast Whey, I would suggest the introduction of mentorship and peer-support programs. By partnering with local high schools and colleges, Carter could recruit older students or young adults who share his passion for health to mentor younger participants. These mentors could then lead the physical fitness workshops, guide them one-on-one, and be role models whom the kids can better associate with and make the journey to a healthier lifestyle more rewarding and achievable.
Additionally, incorporating a peer-support element, where participants encourage and motivate each other, could help sustain their commitment to fitness and nutrition. This approach would not only strengthen community ties but also ensures that the lessons and habits fostered by Yeast Whey will have a lasting impact. By slowly but surely building this supportive network, Yeast Whey can continue to increase its influence in a manner that is at once both sustainable and deeply rooted in the community, alongside Carter’s goal of actively working to inspire others toward healthier lifestyles and advancing equity in access to nutrition and fitness resources. I look forward to seeing Carter’s impact on the youth!