THE BLACK KITCHEN INITIATIVE

Black Kitchen Initiative grant applications are officially live! We're celebrating Year 5 by continuing to support restaurants that are preserving and advancing the legacy of Black food. Click below to apply before the deadline on October 19, 2025.

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About The Black Kitchen Initiative

The Black Kitchen Initiative provides grants to independently owned businesses that uplift the legacy of Black cuisine and foodways in the United States. Since 2021, the program has awarded over $4 million to over 240 businesses - supporting startups, established restaurants, and legacy establishments with targeted funding.

These grants have helped address the economic impact of the pandemic, funded business improvements, and preserved important culinary traditions. Additional efforts, including educational webinars, collaborative events, and emergency relief, have strengthened grantee capacity and visibility, ensuring these businesses can sustain and grow their presence in the industry.

  • "We are extremely grateful for our experience with The Black Kitchen Initiative, it was only because of community support that we were able to survive hardships, face adversities and still be able to continue to serve the community."

    Aaron Williams, Chicago’s Jerk Tacos

  • "During the recent severe storms and multiple power outages throughout the city, I was able to breathe a little easier and move through it all without the usual stress or worry of losing product. Because of your generous grant, we had a newly installed generator put in place to protect all of our food—and that made all the difference in the world."

    Freda Crump, Miss Crumpy’s

  • "The Black Kitchen Initiative has enriched our lives and our business in so many ways... the recognition and support they have provided us has gained us more attention and support to our community."

    Paula Hunter, The Black Italian

  • "I was recently able to purchase the building I was leasing. The grant has and will continue to help me stabilize and grow my business."

    Hardette Harris, Us Up North

History

BKI began in 2020 as a grassroots coalition of bakers, chefs, and restaurant owners raising funds to sustain and preserve culinary traditions rooted in Black foodways during the COVID-19 shutdown. Founders Sarah O’Brien, Cheryl Day, Lisa Donovan, and Anne Quatrano built the effort through community bake sales and personal networks, raising over $80,000 in the first year.

In late 2021, they partnered with The LEE Initiative to expand the program’s reach and resources. This collaboration transformed the small-scale effort into a national program that provides annual grants to businesses across the country.

Founders

  • Anne Quatrano

    Anne Quatrano has helped steer the trajectory of Atlanta’s dining scene for more than two decades by pioneering a simple principle—she was one of the city’s first chefs to showcase local ingredients prepared with precision and presented artfully. At the core of all her restaurants lies a commitment to the land and the inherent flavors locally and lovingly cultivated produce and products bestow. Much of what she serves at her restaurants comes directly from her own Summerland Farm in Cartersville, and she steadfastly supports wholesome wave, local organic growers and Georgia Organics.

  • Sarah O'Brien

    Sarah O’Brien has owned and operated Little Tart Bakeshop in Atlanta’s Grant Park neighborhood for over a decade. What started as a farmers market table has grown into a business with three locations, multiple market tables, and a sister soft-serve shop, Big Softie. O’Brien is passionate about using the best of what is grown and made in Georgia, and about moving the needle in the food industry toward higher wages and sustainable employment.

  • Lisa Donovan

    Lisa Donovan is a James Beard award-winning writer who has redefined what it means to be a "Southern baker" as the pastry chef to some of the South's most influential chefs. She has been formative in developing, writing, and establishing a technique-driven and historically rich narrative of traditional Southern pastry. Lisa is a regular contributor to Food&Wine and she has been a featured speaker at René Redzepi’s globally renowned MAD Symposium. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, Eater, LitHub, and Saveur. OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HUNGER is her first book.

  • Cheryl Day

    Cheryl Day is a celebrated heritage baker, New York Times bestselling cookbook author, and two-time James Beard Award nominee. As a dynamic entrepreneur and captivating on-air personality, Cheryl’s charm shines through on popular TV shows like Christopher Kimball’s Milkstreet and My Family Recipe, Netflix’s High on the Hog, as well as on numerous podcasts, where she shares her profound expertise in southern heritage scratch baking with her trademark approachable homespun style.