Introducing the Vegan Organic Soul Food Platter

I was shocked as I stepped into the chic coffee shop atmosphere
exuded by the Stuff I Eat restaurant located 0.28 miles away from my house. I was shocked because the usual fare here in Inglewood is Soul Food Kitchen or GG's Soul Food, interspersed with In & Out joints and Mexican places.

The interior space had speakers and sound equipment prominently placed, interfaith posters on the wall, and most surprisingly of all Black staff and clientele! I think this is so shocking to me because Roe (my girlfriend who is African American) is resolutely set against vegetarianism.

Beyond my experience with Roe though, many southerners of all skin colors enjoy grits and meaty food, and many African American trace their Soul Food to this southern palette. Although there are many ethnic groups within our country which have cut animals out of their diets, many blacks cannot imagine the idea of giving up their food. Enough generalizations about race though!

Items on the menu included a Lava Burrito, Enchilada Pie, vegan cheese Quesadilla, dairy free smoothies, Organic Tofu Taco, and of course the Organic Soul Food Platter which they describe as:

Delicious food for your soul includes yams, vegan mac 'n' cheese, BBQ tofu, kale greens, mini cornbread muffins and your choice of potato or coleslaw.

Let's just say, one way or another, I'm going to eat there before my adventures in Inglewood are over.

The Office

My typical day in the office starts with booting up my computer, checking voicemail, and checking the fax machine/making tea and breakfast at the break room. Then I meet with my clients (who either are living in a homeless shelter or recently housed), play tag—phone tag that is—, and write case notes. I've been fortunate to be able to be able to go visit people in their homes pretty regularly now. Our offices our really nice, don't get me wrong, but it's just so liberating to get out of them for a few hours each week!

At lunch time, one of the Jesuit volunteers (from South Bend ironically) and I walk to Bread & Roses Café. Bread and Roses is a glorified soup kitchen, serving gourmet food prepared fresh to 150 clients in a restaurant styled venue with a vase of roses at each table. Although I've gone flexitarian, the resident chef often prepares vegetarian dishes and meatless side dishes that I'm able to enjoy.

Nonprofits like my agency, the St Joseph Center, rely on "grants" to pay for most of their expenses, and these grants all have special requirements that need to be fulfilled...regularly. My grant is called the CDBG grant, and we have to meet certain yearly quotas for talking to clients, housing them, visiting them, and doing other various and sundry acts of service.

Only one client came in today. He was an older Iraqi immigrant who lectured me on the basics of saving money by shaving one's head bald, as he himself models, and by cooking for one's self. He told me that the air conditioning for his third floor apartment has never worked, so we called up the property manager to get to the bottom of this. The conversation went something like this:

Hi Jordan! This is Bryce Fisher from the St. Joseph Center. How are you?

Hi Bryce! I'm doing great. How are you?

I'm fine. I'm calling about John's air conditioning. He says it's been broken for several months. Do you have any idea when you'll be able to fix it?

[Sigh] No. I can't give you any idea. I know he reported it in March, but I have no idea. There are a lot of apartments with the same problem, and honestly our company has a lot of empty condos. I'm just happy to wake up and have a job. But I will speak to the repairs guy again.

Alright...well, thanks for your time, Jordan. Bye.

Bye, Bryce.