In a neighborhood where conversations about food insecurity often center on scarcity, Philadelphia’s Tindley Tea Cafe offers a different narrative: abundance with purpose.

Located inside the educational building of historic Tindley Temple United Methodist Church in South Philadelphia — named after a pioneering Black minister, scholar, and theologian — the cafe is a popular brunch destination. Freshly prepared meals, live jazz, local artwork, and a welcoming atmosphere draw foodies from across the city.

But behind every reservation, every cup of tea and every plate served is a singular mission. The profits from Tindley Tea Cafe help fund a ministry that feeds neighbors experiencing hunger.

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Pioneering Namesake

Vicki Baker, business manager for Tindley Temple and a retired educator, says the cafe is the brainchild of Pastor John T. Bryce, the temple’s lead minister.

Two years ago, Bryce and church leaders realized two things about food in their community. First, they recognized that few quality, sit-down dining options existed in the neighborhood south of South Street — a majority-Black community that had suffered from underinvestment and been overlooked for decades. They also noted that hunger was a big problem in the community.

“We decided as a leadership team that we wanted to select people that we could bless in some way every month,” Baker told Word In Black in a recent interview. “So we chose those with food insecurity.”

Rather than simply opening a restaurant, Baker says, Tindley’s brain trust repurposed underused church space into a community gathering space with music, art, and food good enough to entice Philadelphia’s foodies. It then paired that enterprise with a mission to provide free, high-quality meals to the hungry—what could be called the church’s “food ministry.”

We decided as a leadership team that we wanted to select people that we could bless in some way every month. So we chose those with food insecurity.”

Vicki Baker, Business Manager, Tindley Temple

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“Tindley Temple’s soup kitchen actually started in the 1920s under Dr. Tindley and had run continuously until the pandemic,” Baker says, referring to the church’s program to feed the homeless and food-insecure. “We wanted to bring it back, and one of the ministries the cafe supports is that soup kitchen.”

Proceeds from Tindley Tea Cafe help support the church’s twice-weekly soup kitchen, which resumed full operations after the pandemic and now serves dozens of people each Tuesday and Thursday evening. The ministry has expanded through partnerships with local organizations, grants addressing food insecurity, and a growing network of volunteers who sign up online to prepare and serve meals.

Art, Jazz, Legacy

The cafe itself reflects the church’s commitment to community.

Artwork showcases Philadelphia artists, and tables feature musical scores honoring the legacy of Tindley, a formerly enslaved man who taught himself scripture and wrote hymns. Visitors often arrive because they’ve heard about the food, only to discover the history of one of America’s most remarkable pastors and influential Black churches.

That history continues to grow. Tindley Temple recently completed construction of the Charles Albert Tindley Legacy Preservation Center, an archive and exhibition space designed to preserve nearly two centuries of church history while introducing new generations to Tindley’s life and ministry.

Word In Black’s interview with Baker has been edited for length and clarity.

Word in Black: What’s your position with the cafe?

Vicki Baker: So I am the business administrator, business manager for the church. So I do a little bit of everything, in everything. I don’t run the cafe, but through the beauty of technology, the church’s phone rings on a special phone that I have, so we never have to miss a call. I do get a lot of calls for bookings at the cafe or even if people just want a reservation.

WIB: How did the idea for Tindley Tea Cafe come about?

Baker: About two years ago the cafe opened. When Pastor John [Bryce] looked at what was available in South Philadelphia as far as eating establishments, we found that when you got south of South, there weren’t a lot of places. We thought this is an area where we could provide service.

The building that it’s in is the educational building. It was built in 1964. The floor where the cafe is was the general meeting room. Pastor Bryce and First Lady Ebony [Brice] really had the vision. They painted, brought in artwork from Philadelphia artists, and created a very comfortable space. It’s become a place for jazz, poetry, community meetings, worship and so much more.

WIB: Who’s doing the cooking? My foodie friend said the food was fabulous.

Baker: We have a team that works. There are two or three chefs, depending on the day, and sous chefs that do the prep. Food is made to order. It’s not pre-done or reheated or bought. They fix the food there and serve it.

WIB: Tell me how the cafe funds are used for the community.

Baker: We decided as a leadership team that we wanted to select people that we could bless in some way every month. So we chose those with food insecurity. The soup kitchen actually started in the 1920s under Dr. Tindley and had run continuously until the pandemic. We wanted to bring it back and one of the ministries the cafe supports is that soup kitchen.

WIB: How did the church rebuild the soup kitchen ministry?

Baker: When the [city transit] strike was being threatened and SNAP benefits were changing, we decided to push up our timetable to reopen the soup kitchen because we knew there would be a need.

We partnered with Broad Street Love to learn best practices. Through them we connected with Carversville Farm, which delivers meat and vegetables every week. Then the chef figures out the menu based on what arrives. We also received a grant from the District Attorney’s Office for food insecurity, which has helped us augment the ministry.

WIB: What would visitors see today that reflects Bishop Tindley’s legacy?

Baker: The soup kitchen is still his legacy. During his time, there was a soup kitchen, a clothes closet and people even slept in the sanctuary during the Depression and the Great Migration while they got established.

We’ve also just completed construction on the Charles Albert Tindley Legacy Preservation Center. We received a grant to build an archive and exhibition center. We have nearly 100-year-old artifacts that are now being preserved in a temperature- and humidity-controlled archive. We hope to open it in the fall so people can learn about Tindley’s life and the church’s history.

WIB: Why is it important to keep telling Charles Tindley’s story?

Baker: “Our children need to hear these stories because many of them don’t know who they are or who they’ve come from. They hear about famous people who hit it big, but they don’t always hear about the work and grit.

Charles Tindley taught himself to read and write. He taught himself Greek and Hebrew. He was born free, but because his mother died and his father was enslaved, he lived as a slave. That’s an amazing story. There’s nothing God can’t do. We want to keep telling that story.

Based on reporting by Seattle Medium.

Black Americans are intensely aware of the connection between food and health but face economic and structural barriers that limit what they can actually put on the table, according to a new report from Word In Black’s Insights & Research Division.

The report, At The Table: Food & Health In Our Community, published September 3, finds that Black Americans have major concerns about the nation’s food safety and their ability to access healthy food choices at prices they can afford.

Among the starkest findings: Six in 10 don’t trust that the food they buy in grocery stores is safe, and rising grocery prices are pushing families toward cheaper, less nutritious options.

“What we found is a community that knows exactly what it needs to eat well and simply cannot get there on the current terms,” said Christa Mahlobo, Ph.D., Insights & Research Director for Word In Black. Mahlobo is a research scientist who works independently from the newsroom.

When it comes to healthier eating, “The barrier isn’t awareness,” Mahlobo says. “It’s price, proximity, and a food system that too often asks Black families to choose between what they can afford and what will keep them healthy.”

Price, food safety concerns

The report draws findings from a survey of 1,249 Black Americans conducted between April 22 and June 8, 2026. Respondents were readers of Word In Black and 10 partner publishers, legendary Black news outlets operating nationwide. Roughly one-third of the respondents have postgraduate or professional degrees, and the largest group had annual incomes of $100,000 or more.

Respondents also want to see improvements in the nation’s food quality and availability, as well as better access to nutrition education. Roughly 3 out of 4 respondents said prices for healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables need to be lowered. Forty-two percent of respondents want more grocery stores in their neighborhoods, while 38% want more nutrition education.

The barrier isn’t awareness. It’s price, proximity, and a food system that too often asks Black families to choose between what they can afford and what will keep them healthy.

–Dr. Christa Mahlobo, Insights & Research Director, Word In Black

More than 60% of respondents reported concerns about the nation’s food safety, reflecting a broader erosion of confidence in the American food system. In July, a Quinnipiac University poll of likely voters found 55% of respondents have little or no confidence in the government’s oversight of food safety. A KFF survey found that less than half of voters approve of the Trump administration’s handling of food policy.

This comes as news headlines have been filled with weekly reports of food recalls due to salmonella, E. coli, and the continued cyclospora outbreak that has killed two people and sickened more than 11, 000.

KEY FINDINGS

Health vs. affordability

While many respondents did not report being food insecure, the survey found that rising grocery prices are forcing difficult trade-offs.

Respondents described “trading down” — swapping higher-priced foods or brands for cheaper alternatives, such as buying store brands or swapping chicken for steak. They also look for manager’s specials, use coupons, and use mobile apps for additional savings. Some also rely on local food pantries.

Although the most recent government figures estimate that it’s possible to meet federal fruit and vegetable recommendations for roughly $2.50–$3.00 per day, that report—using data from 2022—seems out of step with current conditions.

A noticeable segment of WIB survey respondents reported that they’ve begun buying fewer fresh fruits, vegetables, or meat, and are bypassing organic foods. They’re also more willing to accept lower-quality food, or skip healthier options altogether.

One respondent described her mindset while grocery shopping: “Put it back or find a cheaper unhealthy version.”

The report warns this practice could signal a widening gap in Black Americans’ access to healthy food, which appears to be affecting the larger population.

A Pew Research Center survey conducted last year found that 90% of U.S. adults said healthy food has gotten more expensive in recent years. Seventy-seven percent of lower-income adults report it’s now harder to eat healthier, while at the same time, 46% of lower-income adults said it’s “a lot” harder to eat healthy, versus 15% of upper-income adults saying the same.

Price also shapes where people shop.

Two in five respondents said reasonably priced food is the most important factor in choosing a grocery store — ahead of taste, convenience, and healthfulness. This differs from national survey findings, where taste has been the leading driver of food and beverage purchases since 2006.

The Word In Black survey found it’s common for respondents to eat out, especially among younger adults.

More than one in three respondents reported dining out—including fast food, takeout, or restaurants—three or more times per week. But this finding skewed younger, with 41 % of respondents aged 18 to 34 saying they were more likely to eat at a restaurant three or more times per week than respondents aged 55 and older.

Food is life— and culture

The survey found Black Americans remain strongly tied to their food heritage.

Roughly 32% said their knowledge of food came from how they were raised and what their family cooked at home, while 29% said their current food knowledge was shaped by their own research and expanding their food horizons as adults.

When asked whether they still want to eat the way they were taught, roughly 47% said they try to balance traditional foods with healthier choices. But a quarter of respondents said they still eat mostly the same foods they grew up with, and about 12% have moved away from their traditional diet for health reasons.

Meanwhile, 46% of survey respondents strongly agreed that food in the U.S. contributes to diet–related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Many say their diet is in a good place

When grading the healthfulness of their own diets, a little more than half of respondents gave themselves a B. That’s around the same percentage as the 51% of respondents in a broader survey who gave themselves the same grade. Nine in 10 agreed that what they eat affects their mental and emotional well-being.

Self-reporting diet grades also tracked closely with respondents’ impressions of their overall health. Among respondents who gave their diet an A, more than 85% rated their general health as excellent or very good, compared with 48% who gave their diet a B, 10% a C, and 5% a D.

Low awareness of the “MAHA” program

While the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again program is reportedly having some success among Republican voters, it is not so successful among WIB survey respondents. Nearly half of them either heard very little about the official government-approved food and nutrition guidelines, had heard of the guidelines but were unaware that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had them updated in 2025, or had never heard of them at all.

But survey respondents are having conversations with healthcare providers: 73% said a doctor, nutritionist, or other caregiver had spoken with them regularly or occasionally about their diet or eating habits.

What people say would help

Asked what would help them eat healthier, respondents pointed to structural changes.

Seventy-three percent want lower prices for fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole foods, while 42% want more grocery stores or fresh food markets in their neighborhoods. But 38% also want more public education about food and nutrition—an appetite for knowledge the report calls an important entry point for public health interventions.

The report concludes by calling on policymakers, community health organizations, and food retailers to expand access to healthy foods through subsidies, invest in culturally relevant nutrition programs, and partner with trusted community leaders to deliver health education where Black Americans already live, work, worship, and gather.

At The Table: Food & Health In Our Community was produced by the Word In Black Insights & Research Division, which launched in 2025 with support from the MacArthur Foundation and the Knight Foundation. The MacArthur Foundation made the research possible.

Based on reporting by Houston Defender.

Malachi Wright, a 24-year-old artist from the Chicago area, has created a new mural for Snoop Dogg’s ice cream brand, Dr. Bombay. Located near LAX, the mural is designed to attract the company’s ice cream taste testers. Wright graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Design & Media Arts in 2024 and is currently completing a master’s degree in fine art at California State University Long Beach.

Wright is available for interviews before and during the mural’s unveiling on Saturday, August 29. The exact time of the unveiling is to be confirmed. He can discuss the meaning behind the mural’s design, his creative process, and what it has meant to work with Snoop Dogg and his son at this stage in his career.

The mural depicts Snoop Dogg driving a colorful convertible with his son, Cordell, and his dog in the back seat. Cordell is holding a Dr. Bombay ice cream cone. Wright depicts both Snoop Dogg and Cordell at age 29—Cordell’s current age—imagining father and son spending time together as peers. Both are looking toward the viewer to directly engage the audience.

The mural also features the words “Dr. Bombay, Snoop’s Hiring” in the top left corner and “Powered by Deel” in the bottom right corner. Deel is collaborating with Dr. Bombay to hire ice cream taste testers.

The project marks another chapter in Wright’s continuing creative relationship with Snoop Dogg and his family. While still in high school, Wright designed the cover for Snoop Dogg’s 2019 album, I Wanna Thank Me. He later collaborated with Snoop’s son, Cordell Broadus, on an NFT project and designed a mural for the rapper’s Dr. Bombay brand in Venice Beach.

This latest mural continues a creative relationship that has evolved alongside Wright’s career, from his beginnings as a young artist in the Chicago area to his established practice in Los Angeles.

The mural is a project of Golden Street, LLC, a company Wright co-owns with his brothers Amoz and Ira. Amoz and Ira, along with their close friend/artist Lamar Hawkins, who flew in from Chicago to collaborate on the mural.

Golden Street completed two other murals this summer —one for the Chicago Park District and the other for Harvey City Hall in Illinois. Golden Street’s work centers on creating meaningful experiences in public spaces through art, storytelling and community-driven projects.

The mural is located at The Coffee Company, a popular restaurant in Los Angeles’ Westchester neighborhood. Address: 8751 La Tijera Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045

Based on reporting by Chicago Defender.

By Carla Thomas

For Chef Sharon Lee, the kitchen has never been just a place to prepare meals. It has been a classroom, a workplace, a training ground and a doorway to opportunity.

The San Francisco chef, culinary educator and owner of The Spot! Fine Catering Services has spent more than two decades building a career that blends professional cooking with community service. 

Now, Lee is expanding that mission through culinary workforce training and plans to launch a culinary academy that would provide underserved youth and adults with a pathway into the food and hospitality industries. Lee’s passion for cooking began in her mother’s kitchen; however, she built a thriving barbering business before graduating from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, where she completed the Cordon Bleu program with an associate degree in operations. 

“At some point I wanted to try something new, and I have wonderful memories of helping my mother in the kitchen,” said Lee.  

Lee’s professional training took her to New Orleans, where she worked at Restaurant August and expanded her knowledge of Cajun, Creole, and French cuisine under the guidance of internationally recognized chef John Besh. When she returned to San Francisco, Lee was part of the kitchen staff that helped reopen the remodeled Cliff House at Ocean Beach.

Those experiences helped shape the culinary style she later brought to The Spot! Fine Catering Services, which she founded in 2003.

“I have cooking specialties, but I can also cook Italian, soul food, and many foods inspired by different cultures.”

Along the way, Lee strengthened her business and operational skills by working with Paula LeDuc Fine Catering and Levy Restaurants, as well as venues such as the Oakland Arena and Coliseum, Chase Center, and Moscone Convention Center. 

As a culinary department head with the San Francisco Unified School District, she directed enrichment programming for high school juniors and seniors, designing curriculum, field trips and health education seminars. She also created a pilot culinary and nutrition program through the University of San Francisco’s Upward Bound Program, teaching college-bound students healthy cooking through a garden-to-table model. 

Her community work has included youth culinary education through Big Moma House, food safety and kitchen fundamentals through the Holiday Apron & Hat Program, reentry and job-readiness training through Black Owned Project 365, and culinary instruction for formerly incarcerated men through the Black Cultural Zone in East Oakland. 

In her spare time, Lee enjoys feeding her friends, family, and the homeless in the community.

Lee also hosts culinary cohorts to help underserved participants develop practical skills needed to enter the workforce as prep cooks. 

Her long-term vision is to build a culinary academy that brings those experiences together under one roof. Lee wants the academy to provide students with more than cooking lessons. Her goal is to teach employable skills, discipline, confidence, and the business knowledge needed to move from an entry-level kitchen position into careers in catering, hospitality, food service management, or entrepreneurship. 

For Lee, the recipe is simple.

“It’s all about the next generation and making sure they have the skills and a level of preparation to build a viable career, a good life, and always help others on your journey,” she said.

Chef Sharon Lee will be a guest vendor at the 11th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival on Sept. 12 with the Freedom Farmer’s Market at 4521 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

By Tamara Shiloh

More than a century before juice bars, smoothie shops, and freshly pressed beverages became commonplace, an African American woman in Oakland, California, developed an ingenious machine for extracting juice from fruit.

Her name was Madeline M. Turner, and although little is known about her personal life, her remarkable invention earned her an important place in the history of American innovation.

Turner lived in Oakland during the early twentieth century, a period when opportunities for both women and African Americans in engineering, manufacturing, and invention were extremely limited. Nevertheless, she designed a sophisticated mechanical fruit press that could process citrus fruits much more efficiently than hand squeezing.

On July 26, 1915, Turner filed an application with the United States Patent Office for what she described as improvements to machines designed to extract juice from fruits such as oranges and lemons. On April 25, 1916, she received U.S. Patent No. 1,180,959 for her “Fruit-Press.”

Turner’s machine was much more complicated than a simple handheld juicer. Fruit entered the machine through an opening at the top and was fed individually into a pressing chamber. Inside, a cutting mechanism divided the fruit. Two plungers then moved toward one another, using specially shaped concave and convex pressing surfaces to squeeze the fruit and extract its juice.

One particularly clever feature was the way the two plungers moved at different speeds and traveled different distances. Their coordinated movement allowed the machine to feed, cut, compress, and eventually release the fruit’s remains. She designed the apparatus to accomplish several steps mechanically rather than requiring a person to perform each operation by hand.

In her patent application, she also emphasized practicality. She explained that the machine was effective for its intended purpose and designed so that its parts could be kept clean—an especially important consideration for equipment used to prepare food and beverages.

Turner’s invention appeared during an era when the American food industry was rapidly becoming more mechanized. Machines were increasingly being developed to process, package, and distribute foods in larger quantities. Her fruit press demonstrated how mechanical engineering could make juice extraction faster and more efficient.

Unfortunately, historical records reveal little about what happened to Turner after her patent was issued. Her birth and death dates, education, family life, and later career have not been reliably documented. Even so, the surviving patent provides powerful evidence of her mechanical creativity and technical ability.

Today, Turner is remembered as one of the African American inventors whose innovations helped transform everyday life. Modern commercial juicing equipment is far more advanced than her 1916 machine, but the basic challenge Madeline tackled—automatically feeding, cutting, pressing, and extracting juice from fruit—remains central to food-processing technology.

Turner’s story reminds us that important inventors are sometimes nearly lost to history. However, thank goodness her patent will ensure that her creativity and contribution to American innovation will not be forgotten.

By Kathy Chouteau, The Richmond Standard

On 23rd Street Sunday, Richmond did what Richmond often does in its hardest moments: It showed up. 

Hundreds of community members gathered at Tacos El Rulas on Aug. 22 in Richmond for a kermés fundraiser benefiting the Rivera family, who lost four family members in a house fire last week that authorities have described as suspicious. 

The family-owned restaurant on 23rd Street turned a Sunday afternoon into a neighborhood act of care. A flyer for the event declared “Richmond Comes Together for the Rivera Family,” and the scene outside the restaurant made good on that promise: Families, neighbors, Richmond police officers and firefighters came by to support the cause. Proceeds from the day are intended to help the family with funeral expenses and more.  

“We’re just here as public service to try to support the family and the community,” said Richmond Police Department Crime Prevention Manager Michelle Milam, who was among the public safety representatives at the event. “We think that this is a way that the community is trying to come together around pain and tragedy.” 

Milam said police and firefighters wanted to offer “our support and our care and our concern in the midst of the tragedy.” 

The fundraiser was organized by the Ramirez family, owners of Tacos El Rulas. Angel Ramirez said the event was created specifically for the Rivera family and that “100%” of proceeds from food and drink sales would go to help them. 

Customers purchased $2 tickets each, Angel said, then used them for tacos, water, drinks and other offerings at various stands in the spacious area in front of the restaurant, allowing organizers to keep count of the proceeds. “We’re just here to support them,” he said. 

For Angel, the loss has affected the whole community. “It is hard,” he said, uttering, “heartbroken.” 

The deaths resulting from the Aug. 18 fire included a 33-year-old woman, her 47-year-old father, her 5-year-old son, and her 2-year-old daughter. Authorities arrested 32-year-old Sergio Rivera Vega, a relative of the victims who lived at the residence, near the scene in connection with the suspicious fire.

Sunday’s fundraiser did not erase the enormity of the loss. It did something distinctly Richmond: It made sure the family did not have to stand alone in it. 

Those unable to attend Sunday’s event, but who wish to support the Rivera family, can donate through the GoFundMe campaign established to help cover funeral and burial expenses.