6 South Carolina Restaurants Awarded the Black Kitchen Initiative Grant sponsored by Heinz, The LEE Initiative and Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice

Today, Heinz, The LEE Initiative, and Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice announce the 62 Black owned food businesses to receive a Black Kitchen Initiative grant, amounting to up to $25,000 each ($1 million total). Six of these grantees are in South Carolina: A Taste of Heaven, Swank Desserts (both in Ladson), Peculiar Pig Farm (Summerville), Miss Priss – The Sugar Shop (Johns Island), and Bobby’s BBQ (Fountain Inn), Surefire Neighborhood Market (Rock Hill).

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HEINZ, The LEE Initiative, and The Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice Coalition Award $1 Million in Black Kitchen Initiative Grants

Third consecutive year of HEINZ Black Kitchen Initiative grants will provide support to an additional 62 Black-owned food businesses nationwide

In July 2023, HEINZ announced an additional $1 million commitment in Black Kitchen Initiative grants, bringing the brand’s total contribution to $3 million in three years. Today, HEINZ, The LEE Initiative, and Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice (SRRJ) announce the 62 Black food entrepreneurs nationwide that will receive up to $25,000 each in Black Kitchen Initiative grants, depending on business needs. This year’s grantees reside in 20 different states, plus Washington D.C. 

In 2023, Black-owned restaurants, food spaces, and chefs continue to face serious financial hurdles and inequity in access to capital. A recent report revealed that 37 percent of Black small business owners had difficulty accessing new capital and financing – 14 percentage points higher than their non-Black peers.¹ The Black Kitchen Initiative and its hallmark grant program strive to provide financial support and drive visibility for these Black food entrepreneurs, with an overarching mission to promote long-term business health and success and preserve the legacy of Black-owned food businesses nationwide.

“We’re so grateful to continue our partnership with HEINZ and SRRJ for the third consecutive year, which enables us to promote diversity in the culinary industry and usher in a more equitable landscape for chefs and food business owners,” says Lindsey Ofcacek, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The LEE Initiative. “These chefs, entrepreneurs, and restaurants play an integral role in our communities, and we recognize the importance of continuing to preserve and uplift their legacies in the future.”

In addition to providing financial assistance, HEINZ will also highlight this year’s grantees on the Black Kitchen Initiative microsite and on both the HEINZ and Black Kitchen Initiative social media channels. Tapping into HEINZ’s national following and the irrational love fans have for the brand and shining a light on the individual recipients, the program continues to celebrate the voices and innovators that make up the Black culinary landscape, with an emphasis on brand awareness that will foster long-term business success.

“As a brand that’s sat proudly on Americans’ tables for over 150 years, we recognize the critical role Black food entrepreneurs and businesses play in shaping and diversifying the American culinary pantheon,” says Lizzy Goodman, Brand Communications Manager, HEINZ. “After hearing directly from past grant recipients how impactful the Black Kitchen Initiative grants have been in helping their businesses prosper, we’re excited to provide 62 new Black food entrepreneurs with up to $25,000 in grants, each.”

The 2023 Black Kitchen Initiative grant recipients are: Hoover’s Cooking, Florida Avenue Grill, Historic Magnolia House, Destiny African Market, A Taste of Heaven, Halleluiah BBQ, Auntie Kim’s Pound Cakes, Jumbo Jive Turkey Legs, Lot-A-Burger, Detroit Soul, Elderflour Baking Company, Rich Taste, Leah & Louise, Jonathan’s Fish & Chips, Jimmy Pearls, JADE Jamaican Grill, Flatrock Smokehouse BBQ, Tre’s Street Kitchen, Eastside Eatery, Gabby Bakes, Maraq Gourmet Soup Shop, Buna Kurs Ethiopian Cafe, Ebony Eyes Soul Food, Tell Me Something Sweet Bakery, Can’t Believe It’s Vegan, Goat & Bean Coffee, Charlotte’s Southern Deli, Queen Mother’s Kitchen, Cleo’s Southern Cuisine, Little Food Studio, Elegant Cuizines, Miss Priss – The Sugar Shop, Dozzy’s Grill, Val’s Cheesecakes, The Sweetest Thing, FoodChasers’ Kitchen, Ruby Scoops Ice Cream & Sweets, Ruki’s Ethiopian Kitchen, Surefire Neighborhood Market, DDs Chick and Cat Shack, Strugglebeard Bakery, Jolo’s Kitchen, Saltbox Seafood Joint, Bobby’s BBQ, Grassrootz Books and Juice Bar, Taste and Toast, Wild Rise Bakery, Radical Rabbit, RND Coffee, Dakar NOLA, Swank Desserts, Got Da Juice, Peculiar Pig Farm, Good Hot Fish, The District Pit, Louisiana Creole Gumbo Restaurant, Caribbean Soul Kitchen LA, Sages Kitchen, Bird Pizzeria, Buttermilk Boutique, Chicago’s Jerk Tacos, and Eastside Pizza House. 

For more information on the Black Kitchen Initiative, please visit Heinz.com/blackkitchen, or follow@heinzbki, @leeinitiative, or @srrj_coalition on Instagram. 

¹Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Report, 2023

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About The LEE Initiative 

Lindsey Ofcacek and Edward Lee founded The LEE Initiative in 2017 in response to the #MeToo movement. The LEE Initiative creates and implements programs to address issues of diversity and equality in the restaurant industry, always with a focus on increasing opportunities for employment and helping to make the restaurant industry more sustainable. During the COVID-19 outbreak, The LEE Initiative launched The Restaurant Workers Relief Program. This program started in March 2020 out of the catering kitchen of Edward Lee’s restaurant, 610 Magnolia, and expanded to include services offered out of 19 kitchens nationwide. In total, The LEE Initiative has distributed over 2.5 million meals throughout the pandemic. For more information visit www.leeinitiative.org.

About the Kraft HEINZ Company

We are driving transformation at The Kraft Heinz Company (Nasdaq: KHC), inspired by our Purpose, Let’s Make Life Delicious. Consumers are at the center of everything we do. With 2022 net sales of approximately $26 billion, we are committed to growing our iconic and emerging food and beverage brands on a global scale. We leverage our scale and agility to unleash the full power of Kraft Heinz across a portfolio of six consumer-driven product platforms. As global citizens, we’re dedicated to making a sustainable, ethical impact while helping feed the world in healthy, responsible ways. Learn more about our journey by visiting www.kraftheinzcompany.com or following us on LinkedIn.

About Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice

Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice began in 2020 as a coalition of bakers, chefs, makers and restaurant owners with a shared goal of raising funds for Black communities in the South–specifically Black-owned restaurants–during Covid-19. In 2021, the founders began a successful collaboration with The LEE Initiative to reimagine their fundraising strategy and goals for the future of the organization. Under The LEE Initiative umbrella, SRRJ has raised over $3 million through corporate partnership funding support and created an annual grant for Black-owned restaurants and food businesses that includes start-up costs, improvement and sustainability funding, and grants specifically built to protect legacy restaurants across the United States. SRRJ now also maintains an emergency relief fund to quickly support Black-owned restaurants during unforeseeable disasters. While they have expanded beyond the South and small locally-driven bake sales, their mission has remained and strengthened: to raise and provide financial resources to protect Black businesses in our industry while also amplifying Black leadership, messaging, and progress. For more information visit www.leeinitiative.org/southern-restaurants-for-racial-justice.