Strength in Adversity: The Ferguson Food Community Comes to the Table

During the last two weeks, SLM contributor Pat Eby visited several food-related businesses in the Ferguson area. She encountered individuals with resilience, steadfastness, and an intense desire not just to succeed but to make a difference. Her report is below.

Drake’s Place (701 S. Florissant, 314-736-1140)

When a police liaison asked Deundrake Lewis, owner of the newly-opened Drake’s Place in downtown Ferguson, to cook a hot meal with vegetables and fixings for 200 officers on Tuesday, August 12^th, the former executive chef of the Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center knew he could handle the cooking. Then he got the surprise. He only had one hour to pull it off.

“It was like Restaurant: Impossible, you know, that Food Network Show,” his wife Bridgett Lewis says. “They picked the right person.”

“I don’t panic,” Deundrake Lewis says. “I checked that I had enough chicken, then I cooked a stir-fry with carrots, fresh green beans and vegetables. We made it with rice, and they came to pick it up an hour later.”

“The police and the fire department are right down the street. The fire marshal comes in with his wife and granddaughter. We know these people. They’d been living on sandwiches and cold food,” Bridgett Lewis says.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Food Pantry (33 N. Clay, 314-753-7911,saint-stephens.info)

The residents near the sometimes-violent protests on West Florissant also struggled with food issues.

“The grocery stores closed down,” Steve Lawler, rector at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Ferguson says. “The food pantry shelves emptied almost immediately. Families had the extra expense of school supplies this month, which left less money for food, so the need had been greater.

“We usually buy canned goods and staples for our pantry with cash donations at local stores that employ people in our community, but the stores were closed down,” Lawler says. “We ran out of food.”

When anchor Kay Quinn of KSDK Channel 5 covered the story of the bare pantry on August 12^th, people from all over St. Louis responded. “People told us over and over ‘We want to help.’ The response was overwhelming,” Lawler says.

On Saturday, August 16^th, a dozen volunteers worked double-time at the church to sort, box and store the outpouring of canned and staple foods. Groups in the community continue to hold regular food drives and the shelves are now filled.

Lawler and community activists then faced a new challenge. Many roads around West Florissant were closed down. Traffic, the unrest, and the disruption of neighborhoods meant people couldn’t make it to the food pantry. Lawler and friends shifted gears.

“We’re setting up distribution points and making deliveries,” Lawler says. “If people can’t come to us, we’ll go to them.”

Cathy Jenkins of Cathy’s Kitchen (250 S. Florissant, 314-524-9200, CathysKitchenrestaurant  on Facebook)

For business owners Cathy and Jerome Jenkins, the best way to show strength and faith in the community was to keep Cathy’s Kitchen open. The restaurant celebrated its one-year anniversary the first of July.

“We were closed on that first Monday,” Cathy Jenkins says, “but we reopened for breakfast on Tuesday morning and business has been phenomenal. The residents of Ferguson were still living here, it appears. The protests aren’t the only story.

“When I look out my window at home, I see my neighbors mow the lawns, walk their dogs and jog by.”

Cathy Jenkins says support for Ferguson businesses has been widespread. “We had so many phone calls – Creve Coeur, St. Charles, Brentwood – both black and white. People are able to see past the images in the media and they’ve come out. It made me realize life goes on. The violence? It’s not destroying us. We’re here, breakfast to close. People need a place to talk, to gather, to feel safe.”

Jerome Jenkins. Keeping the Family Safe; Taking Care of Business

When you visit the Facebook page for Cathy’s Kitchen, you’ll find yummy photos of food. You’ll find a real-time chronicle of what it’s like to live in the community the whole world’s been watching the past weeks.

On August 14^th, Cathy Jenkins posted:“It's been a long week... Smh. My husband posted earlier today about how tired he was as a husband of always being in the protective mode. He's been listening for every unfamiliar sound...in a nutshell sleeping with one eye open. I'm thankful for Jerome Jenkins because I've been sleeping like a rock!!! Ferguson and the surrounding areas have come out . . . in numbers to support Cathy's Kitchen and other area restaurants. I've been cooking all day and I'm thankful . . .  Thank you Jerome Jenkins & all the Ferguson supporters! #ferguson”

Saturday morning August 16^th, Jerome Jenkins made the egg run. Breakfast crowds during the week had depleted the supply. After he put on his apron, he talked a bit.

“My job? I’m the daddy dream maker for my wife and my family. I’ve lived my whole life in a one-mile radius of this business – coaching, running my businesses, taking care of my home and family,” Jenkins says. “My daughter Cathy just graduated from college. Ag school with a degree in food science. She and my other daughter want to open ten restaurants. I promised I’d help them with the first four, then they are on their own."

EarthDance Farms (233 S. Dade, 314-521-1006, earthdancefarms.org)

The rolling land and fertile fields at EarthDance Farm seem far removed from the acrid stink of tear gas and ominous clouds of smoke on West Florissant, but the death of Michael Brown, its aftermath and its implications hit the eight neighborhood high school students of the Youth Exploring Agricuture and Health program.

“We hired eight teenagers from YEAH to work on the farm this summer, all African-American," said Molly Rockamann, founder of EarthDance Farms. "A former Ferguson middle-school teacher, James Young, leads the junior farm team. They’re the perfect example of everything that’s right with Ferguson – smart, fun, engaged teenagers who worked hard all summer on the farm.

“We’ve had lots of conversations since the shooting. In our discussions, they’ve been disgusted by the looting. They struggle. They’re uncertain. It’s awesome when they realize they can have a positive effect on their peers.

“I don’t think protests are terrible. The protests and the looting are two different things. There are reasons [for the unrest], but I also think the way things have happened isn’t justice,” Rockamann said.

Rockamann set up a Facebook page, ‘Show Ferguson Some Love,’ to build support for the community, in particular for the Ferguson Farmers Market. EarthDance has been a vendor at the market for years.

The Ferguson Farmers' Market (20 S. Florissant, 314-324-4298, fergusonfarmersmarket.com)

Heavy rain didn’t dampen spirits at the farmers market the first Saturday after the disturbances began. People from all over St. Louis turned out to support the market and the Ferguson community.

Rockamann’s sunny presence at the EarthDance stand countered the gloomy skies. Workers and farm apprentices sampled green zebra tomatoes, an unusual heirloom with a clean citrus-y taste. Fresh herbs, vegetables and fruits, including hard-to-find lemon cucumbers and ground cherries filled the tables.

Alie Flores, a freshman apprentice at EarthDance whose family owns El Palenque Restaurant (254. S Florissant, 314-524-6200, the flavorofmexico.com), says her family’s restaurant has remained busy. El Palenque also sells street tacos and other foods at the farmers market.

Supporters lined up to buy ‘I Love [heart] Ferguson shirts at the market. Brian Fletcher, the former mayor of Ferguson, started the campaign and manned the booth. When we stopped by, he had nearly sold out.

Mayor James Knowles roamed the market, talking with residents. He’s hopeful about the future. “This situation isn’t unique to Ferguson. It didn’t start here, but it could end here. How is this going to move us forward as a country? This is part of history now.”

Ferguson Brewing Company (418 S. Florissant, 314-521-2220, fergusonbrewing.com) and Marley’s Bar & Grill (500 S. Florissant, 314-524-3277, marleysferguson.com)

Ferguson Brewing Company anchors the corner of Paul and South Florissant not only in bricks and mortar, but with the Loneros, a father and son team whose business savvy helped the newly-revitalized business district grow over the past years.

 “I feel sadness for the most part with all the circumstances,” son Mike Lonero says.

 “Sadness for the family of Michael Brown. For what’s happened on the streets. For my employees. Monday, the first day after the protests turned violent, we’re normally closed. Tuesday we talked with our staff. What do we do now? How do we rebuild a city and bring it back to life?” Lonero opened back up Tuesday night.

His neighbor, Kelly Braun at Marley’s Bar and Grill, explained that the tightly-knit business community got together right away to present a united front. They decided to open on Tuesday. They believe they will weather this storm together.

“We’ve survived not one, but two tornadoes. We’ll survive this,” Braun says. “Our employees – we count on them. They count on the money they make every day they work. Right now they’re hurting – emotionally and financially. At the end of the day, everyone needs to put milk on the table and pay rent.”

The daily news reports and videos seen around the world bear little resemblance to the Ferguson Lonero and Braun hold dear.

“In the six years we’ve been open, I never thought this would happen only a mile and a half away. When we post stuff, I tag it Ferguson Strong. We’ve been knocked down before. We just keep getting up,” Braun says.

Bridgett Lewis, Drake’s Place, Buoyed by Faith

The devastating blows and the aftermath of the shooting of Michael Brown came close on the heels of personal tragedy for Bridgett Lewis.

“My mom passed away when we started this business,” Lewis says. “The art on this wall is from my mother’s house and it reminds me she is still with us.”

The large framed piece shows a stylish black couple stepping out.

“When the trouble started, I thought about my mother. I knew she would have been calling me. That day, Margaret Nolan phoned us and came in for lunch with her friend. My mama worked for her for thirty years. Margaret was the first female circuit judge in St. Louis County,” Lewis says.

“The next day we got a card from her. She was writing to people she knew at UMSL, telling them how wonderful our food was. She said, ‘I could feel your mama pushing me in the back. ‘You help them out, Margaret. You know you can afford it.’ She sent us a check. We cried that day.”

Lewis paused. She said the bible verse they put on a side back wall, ‘Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.’ Psalm 34:8, was one of her favorites. “We have 10 grandchildren, many of them bi-racial,” she said. “At my church, it’s a mix of the races. I think that’s the way heaven looks; it’s the way my family looks, it’s what I see in our restaurant and in Ferguson. We’ll get through this.”

Mya Canty, Drake’s Place, Hope in the Future

Soft spoken, peace-loving and brave, Mya Canty has shown up to protest non-violently on West Florissant Avenue every night after she leaves her job at Drake’s Place. She returned to St. Louis this spring.

“I just graduated with a BA in history and diversity from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri in May,” she says. “I came in here [Drake’s Place] for lunch, and the Lewises offered me a job.

“The protests have been quite an interesting experience for me. I’ve studied the civil disobedience of the 1960s. I didn’t think I’d be living it.

“I live near Canfield Green. I’ve never had a gun pointed at me before this week. It’s terrifying, but I have to drive by the spot where Mike died every time I want to go out.”

For Canty, the protests may be life-altering.

“I wanted to go to graduate school, to become a professor, teaching African-American and women’s studies. This situation causes me to alter my thinking about my career. If there were more black faces in law enforcement and in politics, if there was more sensitivity to diversity in these places, maybe this wouldn’t occur as often as it does.”

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Other Ferguson area restaurants that need your support:

Corner Coffee House (100 N. Florissant, 314-521-4600, cornercoffeestl.com)

Faraci’s Pizza (520 S. Florissant, 314-524-2675, Faraci Pizza North on Facebook)

Swiish Bar and Grill (8021 W. Florissant, 314-385-3799, Swiish Bar and Grill on Facebook)

Vincenzo’s Italian Ristorante (242 S. Florissant, 314-524-7888, vincenzosstl.com)

Whistle Stop (1 Carson, 314-521-1600, whistlestopdepot.com)