By Beverly Richards Special to the AFRO During the early part of the twenty-first century, Black-owned farms were in abundance. Over the decades, ownership has depleted immensely. According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, BIPOC (Black and Indigenous People of Color) farmers and landowners are grossly underrepresented. Black Americans identify as just 1% of rural land […]
Category: Food
Posted in!Front Page
Black woman-owned Cuples Tea House opens brick-and-mortar store in Baltimore’s Howard Row
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer Report for America Corps Member msayles@afro.com While many couples go on dates to the movies or fancy restaurants, Baltimore natives Lynnette and Eric Dodson, dated over tea before they were married. Each time they got together, their dates consisted of hours of conversation over a cup of tea. It […]
Posted inNEWS
African roots growing in the U.S.: Dominique Charles cultivates joy through urban gardening
By Aysia Morton Special to the AFRO For many African Americans gardening is deeply rooted in our ancestry on the continent of Africa. Centuries before slavery, Africa had an expansive agricultural society. African slaves, forced into the U.S., introduced fruits and vegetables that became dietary staples, especially in the Black community- including watermelon, cantaloupe, okra […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Soul food, African culture embedded in American Cuisine
By Nicole D. Batey Special to the AFRO Much of American cuisine is influenced by African-American food and traditions. The expression “soul food” originated in the mid-1960s, when “soul” was a word commonly used to describe urban, or Black, culture. Soul food is the foundation for African-American that, at its core, involves down-home cooking that […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Black-owned Market Fresh Gourmet strives to fight food deserts in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer Report for America Corps Member msayles@afro.com Growing up in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, the only food that Mario Minor had access to was from corner stores and fast food restaurants. His options comprised frozen and fried meals with high sodium, fat and sugar. While working out kept Minor looking healthy […]
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Three Keys Coffee pairs cups of joe with jazz
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer Report for America Corps Member msayles@afro.com Tio and Kenzel Fallen have long been coffee lovers. Tio works in the oil and gas industry as a mechanical engineer, while Kenzel specializes in risk management for banks. When the couple traveled internationally, they made it a point to visit coffee-producing countries. […]
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Greenbar addresses Prince George’s County’s need for healthy food options
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer Report for America Corps Member msayles@afro.com In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brandon Barksdale and Sharisse Barksdale-Lane, developed the concept for Greenbar, a fast-casual restaurant committed to providing healthy, fresh and whole foods. The brother and sister duo decided to dive into entrepreneurship with the eatery after they […]
Posted inLIFE & STYLE
Africa’s ‘Great Green Wall’ shifts focus to hold off desert
By Carley Petesch The Associated Press The idea was striking in its ambition: African countries aimed to plant trees in a nearly 5,000-mile line spanning the entire continent, creating a natural barrier to hold back the Sahara Desert as climate change swept the sands south. The project called the Great Green Wall began in 2007 […]
Posted inLIFE & STYLE
The Moore Report: Hunger Really Hurts-Make the Pains Go Away
By Ralph E. Moore Jr. Special to the AFRO Many of us can make our hunger go away with a walk to the refrigerator or a trip to the grocery store or a fast food restaurant; it is not so easy for far too many people in this country and others around the globe. There […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
First Black-owned autonomous grocery store in the U.S to open in December 2021
(Black PR Wire) – Safety, nutrition and sustainability are important elements for any community, and for Nourish + Bloom Markets they comprise the cornerstone of their business model. Nourish + Bloom Market, set to open on Dec. 17, in Fayetteville, Georgia, features “frictionless shopping.” Customers will be able to walk in, grab what they need, […]
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Black-owned Spizzy serves up nutritional whole-fruit smoothies
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer Report for America Corps Member msayles@afro.com Prince George’s County educator Victorious Hall labels himself as “the guy with the spandex.” He’s an avid cyclist, and some of his favorite places to visit are smoothie shops. However, he noticed that many of the local smoothie locations were putting added sugar […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Refocused Vegan proves that comfort foods can be vegan and good
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer Report for America Corps Member msayles@afro.com Jerel Jefferies wasn’t always a vegan. Born and raised in Baltimore city, he said he grew up eating chicken boxes and McDonald’s. It wasn’t until college that he decided to forgo animal products and jump into veganism. In 2019, Jefferies opened Refocused Vegan, […]