Adapting and Nurturing Through COVID-19
Left to right: Ana Cabrera, Latoya Meaders, Termisha Henry & Tyshawn “TJ” Jones
We sat down with the owners of three of our earliest Rethink Certified restaurant partners– Brain Food, Collective Fare and Taste So Good– to look back on the challenges and great lessons they have encountered in the past two years. We talk about how they have pivoted the way they operate their businesses to serve their communities in times of crises.
Rethink Food is grateful for these trailblazers in the restaurant industry who, at the peak of the pandemic, didn’t hesitate to step up and help others in need–and still do so today. These businesses have given the word ‘community’ a whole new meaning–one that will leave a mark in the post-pandemic hospitality world. We’re proud to share their journey with you.
ANA CABRERA - BRAIN FOOD, BROOKLYN, NY
Ana and her husband Ali Ahmed are the owners of Brain Food, a restaurant with a unique approach to clean eating, sustainability, and giving back to the community. Brain Food offers affordable and healthy menu options, meal prep kits, a coffee club with the purpose of reducing waste, and only provides biodegradable containers, cutlery, and reusable bags. Brain Food has prepared 150,000 meals to date together with Rethink Food.
ON BEING A RETHINK CERTIFIED PARTNER AND HOW IT CHANGED THE WAY THEY OPERATE:
Rethink is family. Because they understand what we’re trying to do and we understand what they’re trying to do. I love all the conversations we have together and with other restaurant partners because wherever we lack, someone is there to answer those questions. Being a Rethink Certified Partner is like having a support system of many different partners that have awesome experience. Everyone I have met has been so genuine and works towards the same mission. And it’s just great to be able to have support on both ends where we are able to provide and we are able to receive.
ON DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY AND FINDING RESILIENCY:
Throughout the pandemic, there were constant changes regarding mask mandates and how to address the community. During this uncertainty it wasn’t just about us and our business but also our families. And you think about how to keep your employees around. The challenges that we had to overcome were to accept the uncertainty and put on a good face and make sure we were able to support however we can. But the best part of all of this, is the resiliency that we’ve all created–the network that we’ve formed and the many people that we’ve met. That’s what helps you overcome the challenges, by having that big support system, knowing that we’re not alone. We definitely made a lot of friends in this chaos and even though there is still uncertainty I’m glad that we were able to connect with a lot of people and get support.
HOW THEY WANT HEALTHY MEALS TO BE THE BACKBONE OF THEIR COMMUNITIES:
Our approach is to make sure that we provide healthy, affordable meals but to ensure there’s a sense of collectivity. Because people see that we are providing a meal that is good quality that they can afford, and simultaneously that they are also contributing to people that can’t afford it and this way they are helping the community. So they know that the meal they are purchasing is supporting other members of their community. That is definitely exciting. People love seeing our Rethink Certified logo and knowing that they can contribute to Rethink Food’s mission by donating to the DipJar. This way, the community is a part of us much as we are a part of them.
LATOYA MEADERS - COLLECTIVE FARE KITCHEN & CAFE, BROOKLYN, NY
When LaToya Meaders and Femi Rodney Frazer started Collective Fare, a catering company run out of the Brownsville Community Culinary Center in Brooklyn, they aimed to empower locals interested in healthy cooking, create job opportunities and run a successful business, too. Since then, their concept and operations has expanded tremendously - including their new brick and mortar concept - the Collective Fare Kitchen and Market - at 154 Clinton Ave. Collective Fare has prepared 230,000 meals to date together with Rethink Food.
LOOKING BACK ON THE LAST TWO YEARS AND THE CHALLENGES:
The last two years were just a lot, you know. Getting through the pandemic, not understanding what the next day was going to look like and ensuring our staff stayed healthy. At the peak point during COVID, we had about 65 people working with us to produce the meals and just making sure that everyone was healthy and that we were all able to get through the pandemic was a big challenge. It's so important to have that sense of collective movement towards being able to provide meals.
ON SERVING THEIR COMMUNITIES AND WHAT COMMUNITY MEANS TO THEM:
Community means life. Community is everything. Community is love. Community is hope. Community is forward to me. We experience community through food. We experience community through our likes and dislikes and community is the thing that binds us all. It helps us also create sustainable initiatives and models by creating and having a community around us.
To date, with Rethink Food, we've provided 230,000 meals. It's important for us to know what type of tastes and flavors will go into the community because we believe in serving people with dignity and respect. That’s why we ensure to engage with our community-based organizations and ask them: “Did you like the salmon? Did the people like the salmon?”.
ON PROVIDING CULINARY EDUCATION TO THE YOUTH AND ITS IMPORTANCE:
My partner and I are passionate about educating people around food, taking the fluff out of the culinary industry, and bringing it down to where everyone has the ability to cook. I know it sounds silly, but anyone can cook, like Ratatouille. But how do you change the mindset of the people? You change it through education, you can’t expect people to eat better by telling them to buy better produce. If you hand someone a butternut squash and they don't know how to cut it or how to peel the skin off, then you literally gave them something that’s going to go to waste. So one of the reasons why we got into culinary education is to make sure that as we are talking about food, we are also tying in the community to make sure that they understand. As we begin to talk about urban agriculture, we talk about food equity. We have to also empower them with the tools so that they are able to create a more equal and equitable society for themselves.
TYSHAWN “TJ”JONES & TERMISHA HENRY - TASTE SO GOOD, BRONX, NY
Keeping it in the family is part of what makes Taste So Good so special. Pro skater Tyshawn “TJ” Jones and mother Termisha Henry have been bringing irrefutably tasty Caribbean fare to the Soundview food scene since they opened four years ago. And since the start, community investment has been crucial to their business. Taste So Good has prepared 100,000 meals to date together with Rethink Food.
LOOKING BACK ON THE CHALLENGES OF THE PANDEMIC:
Termisha: The greatest challenge we had to overcome was to find the right workplace. It is being able to rely on other people because that was a challenge. When you open a business you think that you’re going to have workers and they’re going to work for you and then reality hits when challenges arise such as Corona and you can’t find any workers. Nobody wanted to work and we had to do everything ourselves. So that was the biggest challenge but I think I’ve done really great because I put my energy into it and I’ve been doing it myself.
ON WORKING TOGETHER AS MOTHER & SON:
TJ: Its’ fun working with my mother and sometimes annoying (Termisha laughs). Working with a relative is better because at the end of the day you work with someone you can trust. Everything has its ups and downs but that's life.
Termisha: For me it’s great, I love working with my son. He has brought my dream to life and together we are a stronghold and that is what I teach my son. That togetherness is what makes it whole, we are all we got, so let’s do it! We want to expand Taste So Good worldwide, and together with Rethink Food, we’re gonna feed the communities— your community, our community — wherever it’s needed. We are here, together, and as I said before, together we are stronger.
WHY COMING TOGETHER WITH COMMUNITY IS SO IMPORTANT:
Community means to me coming together and being aware of your left and your rights around the corner. I can help my community and we can grow strong together. We can change the community, we can make it stronger, we can make it brighter, we can make change and that’s what this world needs. We need change and if you are a part of change then you’re on the right track.