25+ Ways You Can Support Black Owned Food Vendors & Black Food Creatives.
I was on Clubhouse last week and, for some reason, I decided to randomly jump into one of those “Audit Your IG Profile” rooms. I had time to kill so I figured I’d add my name to the queue and see if I could learn something new. Long story, short: I learned that some Social Media Experts didn’t think that my mission was clearly expressed in my bio. The hell?!
“Excuse me. I just want to make sure I’m hearing your correctly. Are you saying that my account called ‘BLACK FOOD FRIDAYS’ that says ‘BUY BLACK FOOD ON FRIDAYS’ one the first line of my bio isn’t…clear enough?”
They were like, “Yeah.”
I was like, “Thanks for your time” and bounced. Well, not immediately but once I was offered an opportunity to go back into the audience so that more people could come on stage to be audited, I jumped at the chance.
I wasn’t upset that someone had critiques for my page. That’s exactly why I jumped on stage in the first place. Rather, I was baffled by the critique itself. If they had issues with my choice of photos or that I treat my IG Stories like an afterthought or—shoot—any other reason, I would have politely bowed my head and happily chewed that cud. But the idea that multiple people felt that a page called “BLACK FOOD FRIDAYS” with the words “BUY BLACK FOOD ON FRIDAYS” on the first line of its bio wasn’t “clear” enough legit had me confused.
In response to their critiques, I promptly did…nothing. Deciding, instead, to treat the entire situation less as an actual audit and more like a bunch of randos on Clubhouse not understanding my mission. It was either that or admit that the issue was my inability to properly express the page’s call-to-action and I wasn’t about to do that. Besides, I was the only Black person on the stage which allowed me to discounted the advice, placing it in my “White People Just Don’t Get It” mental folder.
A few days later I visited another room with a similar concept promising the same free “expert” analysis of ones Instagram account. But this time, the room was moderated by a Nigerian woman (living in London). I wish I could say that I hurried into that room and raised my hand to see if I could get some poignant advice but that’s not true. I just wanted to run on stage and be like, “Hey everyone! ‘White People Just Don’t Get It’, ammirite?!” So that’s what I did. And what happened next shocked the shit outta me.
To my surprise, this Nigerian woman (living in London agreed) with all them White people! Woooooooooooow!
She said that, as a Nigerian, reading my bio didn’t stir any emotions within her. GASP! More importantly, she wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted her to do. CLUTCHING MY IMAGINARY PEARLS! The phrase “BUY BLACK FOOD ON FRIDAYS” which, I imagined to be crystal clear in its directive, was not to her. “When I read ‘Black Food’ I did not know if you mean ‘food that is colored black’, which is a thing on the internet or ‘food made for Black people’ or ‘food made by Black people’.”
My mind was bloooooooooown, son! First of all, (deep sigh) she was right. The way the copy was written, there was no way to determine whether I meant “black colored food’ or ‘food made by Black people’. Secondly—and this is the part that stung—that also meant that all them White people were right too. They properly analyzed my issue within 3 minutes of me being on stage and I allowed my pride to cloud my judgment. As enlightened as I imagine myself to be, the fact that I reduced their constructive feedback to the ramblings of people who were not in touch with “the Culture” made me sick to my stomach. I was so dismissive of their advice that, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t go back and apologize because I didn’t even bother to remember any of their names! Woof. But on the brightside, it’s not like I said, “Y’all don’t know what TF y’all talkin’ ‘bout—screw this—I’m out!” so, fortunately, I saved myself that embarrassment.
In conclusion: I needed to do a better job of letting people know exactly what they were getting into when they visited my Instagram page. Which led me to conclusion that I probably need to be more specific when discussing what people can do to be supportive of Black owned food/beverage vendors and creatives.
That weird experience from Clubhouse led to the realization that a list, detailing the specific ways we can be better allies to Black owned, food/beverage businesses. Of course this isn’t an exhaustive list so if you have any ideas that you want me to add, feel free to leave a comment with your suggestions. So without further ado—here’s a running list of specific ways you can support Black owned food and beverage vendors and Black food Creatives:
Buy food and/or beverages from Black owned restaurant.
Buy gift cards or gift certificates from Black owned restaurant.
Pay for a friends meal/drink/dessert/etc. from a Black owned restaurant or other food and/or beverage business.
Order catering from Black owned restaurant or Caterer.
Recommend (online or word-of-mouth) a Black owned restaurant to friends and family looking for a place to eat.
Leave a positive restaurant review on a site like Google Maps, Apple Maps, Facebook, Zagat, OpenTable, Yelp, or any other site that allows for reviews.
Upload pictures with your positive restaurant review.
Follow and interact with Black owned restaurants, Black food Influencers, and/or Black food Creatives on your social media platform of choice.
Join the mailing list of your favorite Black owned restaurants, Black food Influencers, and/or Black food Creatives.
Buy a cookbook or food related memoir written by a Black author.
Share articles about your favorite Black owned restaurants, Black food Influencers, or Black food Creatives with your network.
Pitch a publication to write a story about a Black owned restaurant, Black food Influencer, or Black food Creative to get them in front of a new audience.
Write and submit and Op-Ed, to your local news paper, about a legendary Black food purveyor in your city.
Buy branded merchandise from your favorite Black owned restaurants, Black food Influencer, or Black food Creative.
Subscribe to your favorite Black Influencer’s and/or Black food Creative’s and/or Black food Critic’s podcast and/or YouTube channel.
Nominate your Black owned restaurants, Black food Influencers, or Black food Creatives for relevant awards.
Donate your skills/services to Black owned restaurants, Black food Influencers, or Black food Creatives.
Randomly send money to your favorite Black food Influencers and/or Black food Creatives via CashApp, Venmo, PayPal, and/or Zelle.
Buy an eBook from your favorite Black food Influencers and/or Black food Creatives.
Create an Instagram Reel or TikTok listing your favorite meals from Black owned restaurants.
Create and share recipes from Black owned Chefs, Recipe Developers, and Home Cooks.
Buy bottled speciality foods, like sauces and seasonings, from Black owned companies.
Buy liquor (if you’re 21 or older in the United States) from Black owned spirits or wine brands.
Watch food themed television shows featuring Black talent.
Visit Black wine, beer, and/or food festivals.
Hire Black people to write about their food experiences.
Hire Black people to work at your food publication.
Stop undervaluing Black food Creatives—pay them the same rate as non-BIPOC Creatives.
Download the EatOkra app so you can easily find Black owned restaurants in your area.
This certainly isn’t all of the ways you can be an asset but I’ll be damned if this ain’t a pretty good starting point! And like I said: if you have other ideas, don’t be afraid to leave them in the comments or send me a message!
/
KJ
