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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”.

YouTube video

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!

Open Pitt Barbeque

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.

Sauce The City

Home of the Original Cleveland Hot Chicken.

Black Box Fix

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.

The Vegan Doughnut Company

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!

This post was originally published on June 3, 2020

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Comments

  1. A hidden but fantastsic BBQ gem is Goodfellas BBQ in Cleveland Heights, OH. It’s a tiny, family owned shop and 100 percent delicious. The owner made free meals for hungry kids when Covid started. You have to try his ribs!

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  3. Very excellent post. I will be sending to many others. As a people living in community and country this is a way to begin healing through food, drawing people together in a most productive way!

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  4. Thank you so much for this post. I live in Cleveland and have never heard of this organization. It’s funny how things happen…like so many of us, I have been spending much time these last few days educating myself on what I, as a white privileged woman, can do to be more antiracist. While there are many organizations out there that are doing great work and need our support, I personally was hoping to find a group that was actively focused on positive education. The Green Ghetto speaks to my love of gardening and I love the work they are doing. Thank you for the divine intervention.

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    1. Thank you so much Karla. I am really glad you have been interested in how to do your part and I hope this post helped. ? xTieghan

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  5. Thank you for taking the opportunity to post something positive and constructive. So refreshing amidst all the “noise”.

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  6. Tirghan, what an amazing article to post today! An unknown treasure, doing so much for the community.
    It’s a story that is inspiring, encouraging and incredibly hopeful when things are so horrifically sad in our county. Thank you, Jan (Cleveland)

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  7. I love what you are doing here Tieghan! Perhaps you could do a post that highlights/shouts out some of your favorite black bloggers? I’m not heavily immersed in the “blogging scene,” but it seems as though (at least within the most popular bloggers) blogging culture is pretty white-dominated. I know there have to be tons of amazing POC bloggers out there and I for one would love to hear more about them!

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  9. Tieghan, this post was so uplifting especially during this time. This topic is so important to learn about to help mitigate food deserts in this country! Thank you for using your platform to give these organizations/restaurants the attention they deserve. Another awesome organization is Urban Bees in Detroit, where they turn empty lots into bee colonies and educate about beekeeping. Please keep doing what you’re doing!

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  10. Thank you for taking the time to highlight positive activism. It is good to light in such dark times.

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  11. Thank you for sharing this, Tieghan. I love your recipes, but need and welcome this shift in focus and priority <3

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  12. Great post! I live in a suburb of Cleveland and will look into how I can contribute on the health and wellness aspect.

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  13. Love this, and I think it would be cool to do this kind of post weekly or monthly on your blog. It’s always great to learn about innovative or new organizations and restaurants and I bet your readers have a lot of good suggestions!

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  14. Tieghan, I needed this today! I have spent a lot of time heartbroken and horrified at recent events brought on by decades of oppression. Your post today lifted my heart. Rid-All is an amazing and powerful group of people. Not only their products, but their goals and their strength to take that land from a dump to something quite incredible. I too live in Cleveland and had no idea this existed. Please don’t let the grumpy comments get to you. I don’t know how anyone could see this as anything but inspirational AND joyful!

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    1. Hi Karen. Thank you so much, I am really glad you enjoyed this post. I think appreciating and donating is super important right now if you are able to do so, so I just wanted to share some suggestions ? xTieghan

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  15. Wonderful idea to do this now. These organizations deserve our support. Thanks for letting me know about it.

    Reply