![]() ![]() For those Black Trans folks currently experiencing homeless or whose homes cannot support our chef’s cooking, The Okra Project has partnered with institutions like Osborne Association and other community spaces to deliver foods. It’s actually very simple! Based on individual donations, The Okra Project pays Black Trans chefs to go into the homes of Black Trans people to cook them a healthy and home-cooked meal at absolutely no cost to our Black TGNC siblings. In this spirit, The Okra Project hopes to extend free, delicious, and nutritious meals to Black Trans people experiencing food insecurity. Black Diasporic cooking traditions often use the okra plant for its versatility and it is often associated with health, prosperity, and community. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.The Okra Project is a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever we can reach them.ĭuring the Middle Passage, our African ancestors snuck okra onto captive ships to sustain themselves and plant in the new world. ![]() “This is just our continued dedication to feeding people - not just through their mouth but through their soul,” Toussaint tells me with a glowing smile on her face. The Okra Project was founded nearly a year and a half ago by Ianne Fields Stewart to combat food insecurity in the Black transgender community.However, extraordinary events like the pandemic and. In January, they plan to resume direct services in New York City, though they have dreams of spreading their seeds to other cities in the U.S. And soon, they’ll be launching two different kinds of interfaith events called Faith By Okra - one for a mix of cis and trans folks and another specifically for Black trans folks. Recently, they hired a full-time bartender, Jamari Thomas, in the hopes that they can start to help people who want to throw house parties or other nightlife events. For the past couple months, they’ve paused direct services while they seek a fiscal sponsor from a “like-minded organization,” which would allow more flexibility in how they use their money.Īs the Okra Project approaches its one year anniversary, the core team has a long list of new initiatives that they want to take on in their second year. “You actually get to fill in the gaps in places that a nonprofit can't, because they're restricted,” Toussaint says, pointing out that sometimes the Black Trans Solidarity Fund goes towards a for a number of vital and urgent needs, whether it’s hormones, bail, or transportation funds for a Black trans person. And though they’ve been intentionally operating as a not-for-profit, they’ve also veered away from officially registering as a non-profit organization. So far, the Okra Project has been wholly funded by community donations, with all funds coming in through PayPal and their Patreon account. ![]() ![]() “All folks across lived experiences can come together to have a conversation about what Blackness and transness means to them, all while being fed.” Last summer, Communication freshman Asha Yearwoods Instagram direct messages were flooded with drawings, photographs, creative writing and Notes app poetry. “Healing comes through those events,” she tells me. The organization has also hosted a variety of health, wellness, and beauty events called #ByOkra, helmed by the Okra Project’s Community Coordinator Nala Simone Toussaint. #Okra project how toThere’s the International Grocery Fund, which allows any Black trans person in the world to receive $40 to purchase food after filling out a simple form, as well as the Okra Academy, a workshop that teaches Black trans folks how to cook. (August and other members of the team have moved on to “bigger and better things,” Stewart tells me, but all previously involved coordinators and chefs are acknowledged on the project’s website.) Within the first couple months, the organization extended the reach of their direct services from New York City to Philadelphia, and they’ve introduced a myriad of other initiatives. Since then, the Okra Project has grown in leaps and bounds, with Stewart and Sampson leading the charge as co-facilitators. ![]()
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