Posted on Jun 10, 2022
On Vine Street, a Kansas City chef is building a new food community
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Along one of Kansas City’s most storied avenues, a new mission is taking shape in a 140-year-old stone structure, where Chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant is working to create a new, food-based solution to urban hunger and unemployment.
Chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant has a direct connection to the legacy at Kansas City’s 18th and Vine District. Her dad, Mark McAfee, used to own a business in the area, called Riteway Magic Janitorial Supplies and Service.
“This a place that, growing up, going to work there, I used to drive by this all the time,” McAfee-Bryant said.
If the 41-year-old has her way, she too will have an important role to play here — “kind of like full circle,” she said.
Chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant has a direct connection to the legacy at Kansas City’s 18th and Vine District. Her dad, Mark McAfee, used to own a business in the area, called Riteway Magic Janitorial Supplies and Service.
“This a place that, growing up, going to work there, I used to drive by this all the time,” McAfee-Bryant said.
If the 41-year-old has her way, she too will have an important role to play here — “kind of like full circle,” she said.
On Vine Street, a Kansas City chef is building a new food community
Posted from kcur.org
Kansas City
Jazz Music
Food/Chow
Seattle
Edited 2 y ago
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."These kitchens aren’t just teaching people how to julienne vegetables or plan a menu. Smith said many focus on life skills such as resume-writing and how to conduct yourself in a professional environment. Some help students find housing and mental health resources.
“We have members that make lines of dog treats and jams and pickles and truffles and nut butters and all sorts of things,” Smith said. “We're all united around our commitment to food service (and) hospitality (as) an industry that we believe in, that can offer people great first chances, great second chances and fantastic careers.”
For McAfee-Bryant, the idea just clicked: A way to change culinary culture while simultaneously strengthening the fabric of her community.
“When you help someone who grew up in an underserved community, they feel compelled because of their own internal sense of community to give back to that community,” she said. “They shop in that community, they spread the word in that community, and then it creates a really nice ecosystem.”
So, while the construction crew works, McAfee-Bryant plans programs and menus for her operation, which will be just over the bridge from where her dad’s old place was.
“I really remember what it was like watching them build the business, and watching all of the hard work that he put in to making that grow. I have to say that's where my work ethic and my drive comes from, for sure,” she said.
In May, her nonprofit was selected as part of the inaugural cohort in a unique accelerator project from LaunchKC called Social Venture Studio. Last summer, The Prospect KC won a $250,000 grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
With a bit more funding, McAfee-Bryant will be able to provide free job training, coaching and social services for about 25 people at a time. If things go to plan, she’ll start recruiting trainees in August and open to the public this fall."
..."These kitchens aren’t just teaching people how to julienne vegetables or plan a menu. Smith said many focus on life skills such as resume-writing and how to conduct yourself in a professional environment. Some help students find housing and mental health resources.
“We have members that make lines of dog treats and jams and pickles and truffles and nut butters and all sorts of things,” Smith said. “We're all united around our commitment to food service (and) hospitality (as) an industry that we believe in, that can offer people great first chances, great second chances and fantastic careers.”
For McAfee-Bryant, the idea just clicked: A way to change culinary culture while simultaneously strengthening the fabric of her community.
“When you help someone who grew up in an underserved community, they feel compelled because of their own internal sense of community to give back to that community,” she said. “They shop in that community, they spread the word in that community, and then it creates a really nice ecosystem.”
So, while the construction crew works, McAfee-Bryant plans programs and menus for her operation, which will be just over the bridge from where her dad’s old place was.
“I really remember what it was like watching them build the business, and watching all of the hard work that he put in to making that grow. I have to say that's where my work ethic and my drive comes from, for sure,” she said.
In May, her nonprofit was selected as part of the inaugural cohort in a unique accelerator project from LaunchKC called Social Venture Studio. Last summer, The Prospect KC won a $250,000 grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
With a bit more funding, McAfee-Bryant will be able to provide free job training, coaching and social services for about 25 people at a time. If things go to plan, she’ll start recruiting trainees in August and open to the public this fall."
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Great local read: PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good morning, thank you for the solid read/share of the most informational good buddy.
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