Two Local Food Entrepreneurs Win JBF Investment Grants
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Left, Chef Sani Felicia Hough of www.foodbysani.com and right, Chef Saran Toby of Provisions in Gaithersburg, MD.
Two area businesses owned by Black women are among the first round of grant recipients from the James Beard Foundation Food and Beverage Investment Fund for Black and Indigenous Americans. This fund was launched last year by the James Beard Foundation (JBF) to provide financial resources for food or beverage businesses that are majority-owned by Black or Indigenous individuals.
The COVID-19 crisis put a spotlight on the food industry’s challenges, and the longstanding inequity and racial disparity of the food system came into high focus. Pay disparities for Black and Indigenous people have long existed, particularly in higher-end and fine-dining restaurants. And, like other marginalized communities, it is much harder to access capital for launching or growing a food business. JBF saw the need to provide financial resources for food or beverage businesses that are majority-owned by Black or Indigenous individuals, a focused effort on the part of the foundation to “continually lift up the Black and Indigenous business owners in our industry, not just in light of the pandemic, but for good.”
Edible DC congratulates two local entrepreneurs who were winners of the $15,000 grant from JBF’s first year of funding: Chef Saran Toby, owner and founder of Provisions Café in Germantown, MD; and Sani Felicia Hough, founder of Food By Sani, a food truck and catering business located in the Washington, DC. Both businesses are owned by Black women.
Saran Toby opened Provisions in November 2018, with a vision to create a welcoming café that served up food that was influenced by modern Trinidadian, American and French cuisine. Her dishes reflect her Trinidadian heritage and she honors the tradition of Trinidadian home cooking using authentic flavors and farm-fresh ingredients. She has developed a loyal following for her ambience and food; two fan favorites are rum caramel cake and jerk chicken salad. For more information on the Provisions, the menu and catering options, go to www.provisionscafemd.com
Sani Felicia Hough drew the inspiration for her cuisine program from her travels across the globe. She offers up an eclectic menu that ranges from jerk pork tacos to crab cake eggrolls. COVID shutdowns hit her business hard; she was slated to be a vendor in five food festivals in 2020 before COVID-19 canceled those appearances, forcing her to pivot to cooking out of a commercial kitchen and offering curbside pickup. Hough’s food truck is now back in action, and she hopes to use part of the grant to offer an appreciation day to all the customers who stayed loyal to her throughout the pandemic. To find out more about Food by Sani, go to www.foodbysani.com
For more information about applying for a James Beard Investment Grant, go to www.jamesbeard.org/investment-fund
