Jeff Brown knew he wanted to be a grocer at 8 years old. Now he wants to help young people think about the future.

Jeff Brown knew from the time he was a young child that he wanted to be part of the fourth generation of family grocers. By the age of eight, he was already working in his father’s store in Parkside on the weekends.

“That was the highlight for me,” Brown said.

It has also influenced Brown’s belief that youth should be exposed to career development in middle school. “I think we need to invest more in helping young people think about their future,” he told The Inquirer.

But his own early professional development plan didn’t include running for mayor. Instead that slowly evolved as the supermarkets Brown operated started leading him deeper into Philadelphia’s social issues. “I have always been interested in difficult challenges,”he said. “When I did my work in food deserts, everyone told me it was impossible.

“That was part of what interested me, let’s solve a tough problem that really hurts people, and let’s figure out a way to make it possible.”

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