The Detroit Department of Construction and Demolition gave city council an update on the removal of the contaminated dirt in the city on Monday. 

The Department has replaced tainted backfill in more than 100 properties. That’s out of the 450 lots that were identified. The average cost of the fill removal and replacement is about $36,000 per site. 

Department Director Tim Palazzo says they have tightened up process for approving construction fill materials over the last several months. “The first thing is that we collapsed the number of sites and sources from which we receive fill material down to seven public pits. These only excavate native sand, gravel, soil from longstanding operations.” 

Palazzo says they inspect those sites on a monthly basis and send their staff—as well as a third-party environmental consultant—to oversee operations at the sites. He says they have also started sampling the fill before it even leaves the source site.

-Reporting by Bre’Anna Tinsley 

Additional headlines for Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Community discussion about ICE

The Southfield Neighbors Action Committee is hosting a community discussion Wednesday about ICE enforcement in Southfield. “What Does It Mean To Be A Good Neighbor When ICE Moves In?” will be moderated by Kermit Williams, political director of Oakland Forward.

Panelists include Elida Reyes from Community Action for Empowerment, Lauren Fink from Southfield Neighbors Action Committee, Dr. Patricia Talley from Mexico Negro and U.S. House Representative Rashida Tlaib.

The event is Wednesday from 6:30- 9 p.m. in Room 115 at the Southfield Pavilion at 26000 Evergreen Road.

Good Food for Michigan

Dearborn Public Schools has received a state grant designed to bring more Michigan-grown food to its cafeterias. The Good Food for Michigan Project is giving the district more than $460,000. Dearborn schools serve more than 3 million meals to around 20,000 students at more than 30 sites. 

The Good Food for Michigan Project is a collaboration between the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development, the Center for Good Food Purchasing, and the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems.  

Detroit Riverfront hosts art exhibit

People visiting Detroit’s Riverfront and Southwest Greenway can now take in a little bit of the DIA’s art collection. The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is hosting the museum’s Inside Out project featuring large-scale reproductions of 7 works. The pieces will be in place until October.

Girls soccer clinic

The Hamtramck Parks Conservancy and the city’s recreation department are partnering to offer a girls soccer clinic on August 17. Women coaches and trainers will work with girls between the ages of 10 and 17 years old. Balls, nets and pennies are provided.

The clinic runs from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at the Veterans Park Soccer Arena at 8684 Joseph Campau. 

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For the last month Americans have been watching soccer with the World Cup being played on U.S. soil for the first time in more than 30 years.  The final game is this weekend.

As people from around the globe visit, the tournament has highlighted a sharing of cultures. Not only as people show off their own communities in support of their national teams, but also as tourists try American cuisine.

Videos on social media have shown people from Europe coming over and being impressed by the food. That raises the question of what makes the culinary landscape in the U.S., a country founded by immigrants, so different.

Chef Nick Sanchez is an immigrant who serves as the director of the Patchwork Culinary Project. He joins The Metro to discuss the impact of immigrants and refugees on the country’s culinary landscape.

“They bring their food and culture and their flavors with them,” Sanchez say. “Those flavors eventually become our daily meal staples.”

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Hear the full conversation using the media player.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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In America, the “amber waves of grain” have come to represent the strength of American agriculture. But not all Americans are included in this idyllic picture. Those same waves of grain contain wheat, a crop that can pose serious health risks for people with celiac disease.  

Raleigh Minning, a cancer survivor, is the owner of a gluten-free bakery: Made With Love Donuts. Through her work, she said she has come to understand some of the harmful symptoms her customers experience.  

“Some people have rashes, they’ll get indigestion issues, all of these things, and I think that the community that is not celiac, or maybe they just want a couple of dollars out of it, don’t understand how serious it is,” Minning said.  

Minning’s son was diagnosed with celiac seven years ago, and she wasn’t happy with how most restaurants handled his food.  

“They would just push things to the side, or we would notice that they weren’t changing gloves, they weren’t using different utensils, and that made a mama bear very nervous,” Minning said.  

Celiac causes servere reactions to gluten

Lana Scales is a clinical dietician who also has celiac disease. She explained that gluten is a protein that comes from wheat, a grain that can be found in bread, pasta and pastries. Even ordinary items like some brands of lip balm have trace amounts of gluten. 

“When you eat gluten and your body considers it an invader, an enemy, and when it attacks it, it elicits this huge immune response that can cause a myriad of conditions,” Scales said.  

Celiac disease is different than gluten intolerance, Scales said. The biggest difference between the two is that celiac is an autoimmune condition, while gluten intolerance creates a less impactful inflammatory response.  

Amy Rosenberg, an optician with celiac, understands this all too well. 

“My doctor told me I was going to get cancer, and at some point, die,” Rosenberg said. “So I think it flipped a switch in my head, and I was like, I should probably do something about this.” 

Eating with Celiac poses obstacles

Rosenberg has been on a gluten-free diet for 31 years. Along the way, she found friends who faced the same challenges as she did. I joined her, Kaylene Whitaker and Margaret Clegg at a restaurant in Novi that offered a variety of gluten-free options.  

Whitaker, who had intense symptoms for two years before her diagnosis, struggled with being understood.  

“It’s frustrating when people just assume it’s something I choose, and they think I’m being picky,” Whitaker said. “We get to have food preferences just like everybody else, on top of also having to accommodate for celiac.” 

Rosenberg agreed, adding that even family members have a hard time understanding her dietary needs.  

“A lot of people were like, ‘oh, I’m sorry,’ but I’ve been gluten-free for 31 years, so it’s what I know. But I do have some family members that are still confused by it, and it’s kind of offensive,” Rosenberg said.  

After the food arrived, Clegg brought out her phone to take photos for her blog, MI Gluten-Free Gal. She was working on a post about the restaurant’s gluten-free items. 

She talked about how her father’s celiac journey led her to helping people across Michigan find safe, reliable restaurants to enjoy.  

“I have a whole blog post on my website telling the story about me and my dad, and all of that, and how after I was diagnosed, that helped him to pay attention to the diet and do what he needed to do to make himself better,” Clegg said. 

Gluten-free restaurants can minimize risk, create comfort

One restaurant Clegg highlights on her blog is Tru Pizza Co. in Wyandotte. They have a completely gluten-free menu, and Anthony Cipolla is the owner. He said he was inspired to join the business because his wife has celiac. 

From there, he made it his mission to be a place that truly has food for everyone.   

However, Cipolla said he sees a stigma surrounding a completely gluten-free restaurant. He points towards celebrities glamorizing the diet and comedians making it the butt of their jokes.  

“When I was a kid, peanut allergies were so much more common,” Cipolla said. “That was the only allergy that anyone really cared about in the field. If everybody treated every allergy like that, it would make this a lot easier.”  

Scales, the dietician, spoke about the dangers of cross contamination that can result from restaurants not taking proper precautions.  

“The amount of gluten that can fit on the head of a writing pen; you might not be able to see that, but it’s enough to cause a reaction,” Scales said.  

But at places like Tru Pizza or Minning’s bakery, the fear of cross contamination is nearly eliminated. Minning said she finds fulfillment in being able to give back to her community and hopes to see more gluten-free establishments in the future.  

“I love the people who come in here, the stories that we’re able to share,” Minning said, “we’re able to hug, cry, laugh, smile, all of the things that I definitely don’t think that I would be getting out of it if I was doing regular food.”   

Minning said she understands why most restaurants don’t take the risk of trying to accommodate celiac, but she sees a huge reward in it for those who do.  

Ice Cream Detroit is a seven-year labor of love turned premium, sometimes boozy, ice cream shop.

Ice Cream Detroit is run by Ysahai Honor-Marie and Kiaira May. They offer unique flavors From Red Faygo to pop rocks. Every scoop is made from scratch, with an optional liquor-infused twist.

The store started as a pop-up, but has had its own permanent home on Second Ave in Midtown since September 2025.

As the duo continues to grow, gaining loyal customers, the new clientele hasn’t changed who the shop is for. It’s for the community. Ice Cream Detroit offers discounts, which aims to connect to all members of the neighborhood.

Whatever’s next—a trailer, an ice cream bar, a second grand opening, it’s safe to say they’re doing it for the culture. They’re doing it for Detroit.

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CONTAINER On The Metro is a WDET produced storytelling series that brings Detroit’s creative heartbeat to the airwaves. 

CONTAINER is a program created by The Love Building. It’s goal is to showcase Detroit’s creative talent across music, fashion, fine arts and food. Done in collaboration with WDET Public Radio with major support from the Gilbert Family Foundation.

Higher prices at the store are affecting the pocketbooks of people across an array of backgrounds.

Adrian Matti, founder of Marcus Market said rising cost have changed the way customers shop. While maintaining a stable customer base, Matti says they’ve seen a slight decrease in sales. Matti said more customers are swiping the credit card and opting for the generic brands as opposed to their name brand counterparts.

“For example Jiff peanut butter, it could be like a generic peanut butter next to it and there’ll be like 50 cents difference. They’ll go for the generic.”

For his business, however, fuel surcharges pose the biggest challenge. Despite the increased cost to do business, Matti has said the store has been able to maintain their product selection and availability.

Across town in southwest Detroit, Honeybee Market has found itself dealing with similar challenges. In addition with fuel surcharges, Honey bee also is battling supply chain and sourcing issues.

Tammy Alfaro Koehler, owner of Honeybee Market said certain products have been more difficult to obtain. Pointing to crop losses in Mexico that have affected the availability of jalapeños and tomatillos. While shortages may not be noticeable right away it could take months for the impacts to reach store shelves.

Koehler also mentioned that shortages can create difficulties not only for grocery stores but also for people who rely on consistent access to ingredients for their work such as restaurants that source their produce from stores like Honeybee Market and small business owners as well.

Shifting the business model 

Angela Davis, a recipe developer, digital content creator, and freelance chef who goes by Thekitchenista on Instagram said both items not being available and cost have affected her business.

Davis has scaled back some services, and eliminated others like her  pop-up events due to uncertainty around cost and customer turnout.

“Actually, I just eliminated popups right now. I was doing popups through the winter, and it got too expensive because it is a lot of guesswork, not knowing what foot traffic will be like for events where you can’t sell tickets.”

To adapt, Davis has looked at what ways she can maximize the ingredients she purchases. One strategy that has proven beneficial is buying whole ducks. By buying the whole duck, she’s supplied with multiple parts allowing for many different dishes at a lower price point thus reducing waste.

Careful spending and creative solutions

As food prices continue to affect households and businesses, flexibility is becoming increasingly important.

Retailers, food professionals and consumers alike are finding ways to adapt to rising costs.

A survey of consumers revealed several strategies being used to stretch their grocery budgets. Participants noted finding themselves at the store less often all the way to the types of stores they shop at, with a majority saying they have changed what stores they visit.

One respondent mentioned comparing prices between big box retailers and smaller local businesses for the best quality and value. Cross shopping between various stores, cutting back on snacks and novelty items, and preparation methods have all been areas consumers mentioned where they’ve made changes.

“We’re buying less meat like chicken and turkey, since prices for those have skyrocketed. And switched to buying more canned and dry goods that are more rich in protein. We’ve also stopped trying new brands for things like snacks out of fear we’d waste money on something we end up not liking.” one respondent said. 

Another shopper shared that they were buying family-sized packs in order to prepare meals and make it last 2-3 days depending on the household size. Others brought up buying less juice and coffee creamer. 

Another participant noted going to farmer markets to source produce. “The produce is often fresher, locally grown, and cheaper. It might be easier than you think to cook a meal you love if you get creative.”

While there’s no one single solution to rising food costs, many are finding that with careful planning, reducing waste, and remaining flexible, one’s budget can go a little bit further.

Longtime chef Tyrrell Hutchins curates meals with a dual purpose: connect ancestral traditions with contemporary technique. He demonstrates this through his Happy Sunday pop-up events. It’s an immersive multi-course dining experience that takes place every other month.

On June 14, the menu will feature Black American cuisine in anticipation of the Juneteenth holiday.

Hutchins joined The Metro to explain what inspired this month’s  menu and the Happy Sunday format. Additionally, Hutchins discussed why it’s important to connect and work with local farmers.

“I feel like it’s very vital to capitalize on the things around us,” Hutchings said. “Our urban farmers are using a lot of ingenuity to create and produce and I want to highlight what they’re doing at the highest level.” 

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

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Since we last spoke to food critic Melody Baetens, new restaurants have opened, Detroit’s culinary scene has the opportunity to gain national and international attention, and the summer food festival calendar has rounded into shape. 

Melody is a restaurant critic and dining reporter at the Detroit News. She joined the show to catch us up. 

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Food is more than what’s on your plate. It’s a direct reflection of identity, of history, it’s a reflection of access and or lack of justice. 

In communities across this country, where you live can shape what you eat, how you eat, and even how long you live. The truth is that our food systems are rooted in histories that include displacement, inequity, and harm.

Who’s responsibility is it to actively repair these systems, when we all collectively share this knowledge? 

The Joy Project is not only asking those questions, but working to create space for education, and community healing through food.

Founded by Detroit native Gabrielle Knox and Oakland California native Josmine Evans, The Joy Project wants to reconnect people with ancestral foodways and land practices. They aim to educate and spread joy through building historical and cultural relationships between Black, brown, and Indigenous communities and the soil.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro