By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Last weekend, a group of community businesses and organizations came together to feed the community. Operating out of the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, the Community Soul Food Feeding, which takes place every 2nd Sunday of the month, provides free meals to help offset the food insecurities that exist in the area.
Participating organizations include Soul Fusion Food, Hope Center Resource, Dope Culture LLC, Keautious Bakin and Kakin LLC, Puddin Cakz, Big Dawg Hotdogs, and Jimaine Miller (aka “The Def Chef”).
“It’s amazing when I take a minute to think about the people who work 40-plus hours a week, have their own businesses, kids, grandkids, family members to take care of, are involved with other organizations, and are very busy dealing with their own lives, and still manage to show up every month, make it a priority to serve and bless others for no monetary reward whatsoever,” says Anthony Tibbs, CEO of Dope Culture LLC and Third Level Events.
Building a positive society is like building a better life or career. Transformational change takes one small step at a time, but soon your community will be moving in great leaps and bounds. Likewise, your voluntary efforts hold their own virality. The impact you make can ripple from your community to the broader regional, national, and even global society.
As our region deals with sweltering heat, people from all walks of life stood patiently to receive water and to enjoy some of the delicious soul food delicacies prepared by local food vendors, restaurants, and chefs.
“This is what we do,” says Jimaine Miller, a local celebrity chef, whose mission is to battle food insecurities. “Community service is the cornerstone of what we do. Although it is hot out here today, this is an amazing event.”
An estimated 500 people, many of whom may be homeless or experiencing food insecurity, were treated to an afternoon of food and entertainment free of charge.
“My heart is super happy,” says Tibbs. “I think we reached over 500 people again. Black Seattle, your generous donations came in handy today for sure!! We ran out of food twice, and instead of just telling the line, which was a block long, that we are all out of food, we made two more trips to the store to get more.”
According to organizers, giving back to the community is important because it benefits society by enhancing social welfare and reducing the burden on government services, promotes social inclusion and bridging social gaps, encourages civic engagement and a more active citizenry, and provides economic benefits through improved employability.
A lady, who only wanted to be known as Cherise, expressed that she was extremely grateful for the efforts of all those involved in bringing this event every second Sunday to the area.
“Since COVID, life has changed for me and it hasn’t been easy for me,” says Cherise. “But because of the kindness of the people putting this on, I am able to receive good food, they offer other supplies and resources, like socks, water, water bottles, and many other things. What would the world be like if there were not people who practice empathy and compassion?”
“We are entrepreneurs, parents, husbands/wives, grandparents, students, etc. It is definitely an all-love affair,” says Tibbs. “The organizations involved, the volunteers, I thank them for their altruistic service as we continue pushing forward and blessing people in need.”