Rich Juice Bar brings new opportunities to South Baltimore's food desert
BALTIMORE -- The founder and owner of Rich Juice Bar, Mike Battle, is trying to bring positive change to Baltimore.
Battle had a health scare that led him toward the juice industry. He began to use juice to change his diet, and that helped him to change his mission in life.
Now, he has a youth-operated business in Cherry Hill that he hopes will change the lives of his employees, and other lives, too.
"A lot of us suffer with a lot of health issues such as hypertension, diabetes, anxiety, just heart disease, a lot of different things, including myself," he said.
The juice bar isn't just a business but an opportunity for young Baltimoreans to find a new path in life.
"We want this to be an educational hub for South Baltimore," Battle told WJZ's Torrey Smith.
He teaches his young employees more than how to work for a wage.
"We teach kids entrepreneurship, financial literacy, conflict resolution, etiquette," he said. "We just give them a lot of different tools and resources that they need to navigate their life."
Now, the youth he assists are starting to bring their friends.
For Battle, this is the culmination of a health scare that pushed him toward a life change, and a lot of hard work.
"My mindset changed and then my behavior changed and then my life changed," he said. "And once my life changed, I decided to dedicate my life to the youth and doing this work."
