Many restaurants who have been operating at a limited capacity, have found various ways to aid their community. The Bushwick-based vegan restaurant Sol Sips is no exception.
Owner Francesca Chaney was inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests to take action.
"For a lot of Black people, having a brick-and-mortar itself is a huge thing: the history of distribution of wealth and financial literacy can make getting funding and loans difficult...the disparities are there," she told Time Out New York.
Knowing the importance of feeding the Black community, she launched the Black Supper program. Like many of the Black activists who came before her, Chaney is using food to help heal her community. Sol Sips prepared vegan meals, fresh drinks and desserts.
"We can take it back to times when we weren't even allowed at the table to have food and had to take scraps," Chaney said. "But now we're in 2020 and there's no reason to be eating scraps; I want to serve a delicious and nourishing meal. For me, that'll always be plant-based because I am grateful for the healing powers of plants," she says.
This Sunday, Sol Sips will be providing free meals to those in need at Maria Hernandez Park for the Bushwick Black Lives Matter candlelight vigil.
They have also returned to their normal business hours for take-out and delivery only, according to their Instagram.
