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Black Owned Businesses and Bloggers in Food.
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Meet the Activists Bringing Urban Farms to Cleveland.
Photo via The Guardian.
Hey guys! Instead of not posting this week, we’ve decided to take this time to educate ourselves, read, listen, and share ways the black community is thriving. I want to use this platform to share valuable and unique information.
“People of colour are constantly under attack, and not just by guns and the police, by all sorts of structural violence like corruption, food deserts, educational and health inequalities” – Amanda King, founder of Shooting Without Bullets.
As someone who writes daily on food, I want to highlight a Cleveland based organization that I found to be really incredible, Rid-All Green Partnership.
“Food is the longest relationship you will ever have, and we’re trying to help people make it a good one.”
This is a quote from Keymah Durden III, one of the founders of the Rid-All Green Partnership. I wanted to highlight an amazing organization lead by incredible black voices from a town I grew up in and have family in. They strive to change eating habits in a city where health inequalities disproportionately affect African American communities.
Rid-All’s ethos is community building through education and experience. They transformed a desolate illegal dumping ground into a lush, eight-acre agricultural innovation site with greenhouses, fishponds, and a composting facility – creating a community of pride and economic opportunities along the way.
How you can learn more.
Please take a few minutes to do a little deep dive and learn about why farming and healthy eating habits are essential to not only black-dominated communities but to all of us together.
You can learn more about the activists bringing urban farms to Cleveland by watching this video below. I personally found this video to be so inspiring. By the end, I just kept saying, “wow, this is amazing”.
You can also go to Rid-All’s website, greennghetto.org This is a collection of great information not only their organization, but on backyard farming, eating healthy, podcasts, and so much more.
And lastly, this informative article highlighting their organization on The Guardian.
A Few Other POC Owned Cleveland Restaurants.
Since we’re talking all things Cleveland today, I thought I would also highlight a few other black Cleveland based business owners. If any of my Cleveland readers have others you feel should be noted, please let us know in the comments!
Said to be the best BBQ spot around. Ask for extra sauce on everything…yes, please. All about the sauce…always.
Beckham’s B&M
Recommended by my brother, Creighton. Beckham’s B&M has been in the Beckham family since 1958. Beckham’s son Greg and his wife Sonya now own the restaurant today, which has expanded into four locations and a food truck.
Home of the Original Cleveland Hot Chicken.
Said to have the most creative sandwiches in Cleveland. This Legacy Village spot is owned by Chef Eric Rogers. Rogers also owns the bakery The Sweet Fix and the health-conscious restaurant The Fresh Fix.
Ohio’s first and only 100% Vegan Doughnut Shop. This place looks so delicious!
You can find more black-owned Cleveland restaurants here.
Related Reading: favorite black-owned restaurants around the US.
And with that…
I’ll be back to regular posting soon, but I’m looking at this time as an opportunity to share something impactful and important with you guys. It’s fun, it’s different, and I love learning!
Question: I’d love to hear from you. Are there any organizations run by people of color that I should be learning about and highlighting this week? I always value your feedback and suggestions and would love to hear from you guys!
Oh wow! A whole week off to learn about racism. The fact that you think you can understand racism in just a week is everything that is wrong here. So naive. So stupid.
This is an older story I am just wondering if is it still valid?
Hey There! Yes, the story is still valid. Thanks!
Hello, just wanting to make you aware in Firefox these
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Hi Brodie! Thank you for letting me know! I will look into it! xTieghan
Thank you for sharing this great article with us! Here in Atlanta, an organization ‘food alliance’ is working To eliminate food deserts.
That is really great! Thank you Dee! xTieghan
Ahh yes!!!! Thank you for the continued Cleveland love!! This is a great post about an amazing company, I did not know about! And I live a few blocks from the mural you posted ? love your continued hometown support, I look forward to your recipes every weekend I make a more elaborate meal!
Thank you Oksana! I am really glad you enjoy my site and recipes and I hope you continue to! Always hometown support haha! xTieghan
Hey Tieghan,
I loved reading this especially since I was born in Cleveland and I have family all over Ohio. Everything they talked about in the video was something near and dear to my heart. Firstly, I’ve always been passionate about fresh food and know that is cheaper in the long run then eating fast food or buying frozen meals .. Not to mention how much better for your health it is. Knowing you can control what goes into your food. For a couple years, I helped out at a Waldorf school that had a huge garden for the kids. I spent many hours working in it along with helping the children. Each grade level got to have their own plot in the garden. They went through all the steps from start to finish to get their plot ready and maintained it. Furthermore, they got to decide what things they wanted to plant. It was amazing to see how much more you appreciate food when you grow it yourself. Many of us have no idea the involved process involved in farming We are very spoiled as we see it in the supermarket buy it and then put it on our table. Giving children the opportunity to grow their own produce was a mind opening experience for them. Believe me when I tell you it opened their eyes. No one did the work for them. If they didn’t take care of their garden plot they’d have nothing to enjoy. I wish you could have seen the celebrations we had in the garden as well. My favorite time of the year was the peach festival. It brought the community together and everyone made amazing peach dishes to share. The great part was we could pick peaches from the tress to make our delicious dishes. It was my happy place when I was there helping out. Each time I went to help, I got to take home some delicious fruits and vegetables. There is so much I could share with you about this experience. Let’s just say, i was spoiled and it was hard to go back to buying supermarket produce. I’ve got one last story for you. One day I was working to clean out the carrot bed. I’ve never been a big fan of raw carrots up until this point. I picked one to eat and seriously it was like eating candy so sweet and delicious!! Thank you for sharing this awesome organization and how they’ve been helping their community.
Hi Mike! Thank you so much for sharing this! I am sure it was really sweet to see all of the children planting their vegetables and getting to watch them grow! Such a great idea to teach! Also, I am really glad you enjoyed this post ? xTieghan
Hi Tieghan 🙂 loved the article. Check out this man who started gardening on the curbside. It’s inspirational <3 A guerilla gardener in South Central LA | Ron Finley
Thank you so much Nancy! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! Great and informative post, and while I echo the sentiment that I love seeing your recipes all day, every day, I know sometimes we all have things on our minds that we want to say, and we might stop what we normally do – in order to do just that. I don’t personally mind talking and discussing with people who have different opinions and view points on sensitive issues, even though some of these topics can certainly be uncomfortable. I have never learned anything new from someone who thinks exactly the same way I do, so It’s interesting to see and read everyone’s input here. I hope everyone finds something good to appreciate about your site, even if they don’t like or agree with every post, every time. Your kindness and dedication shines through, no matter what the topic of the day. Thank you for taking the time to highlight these organizations that are helping their communities to thrive.
Hi Aline! I am really glad you have been enjoying these posts and I hope you find some great things out of them! Thank you! xTieghan