Chow Down in Chittenden County: A Guide to BIPOC-Owned Sustainability Restaurants

Chow Down IN

Chittenden County

TABLE OF CONTENTS

01.

Land and Labor Acknowledgment

02.

Environmental Racism

03.

Supporting BIPOC-owned Restaurants

04.

In Burlington

10.

Too Good to Pass Up!

12.

BIPOC Environmentalists to Know

13.

Environmental Justice

LAND AND LABOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT For this pamphlet, I will be using "BIPOC" as the abbreviation for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color as opposed to solely "POC" due to the different experiences faced by Black and Indigenous peoples: systemic racism continues to oppress, invalidate, and deeply affect the lives of Black and Indigenous people in ways other people of color may not necessarily experience. Black and Indigenous people also still bear the impact of slavery, genocide, and racial trauma (1).

By discussing environmental racism and injustices, it is important to first acknowledge the horrific treatment inflicted on Black and Indigenous people. We must recognize and reiterate that we are all on stolen land, taken from the Indigenous peoples. In Vermont, we thank the Abenaki people for their continued service and contributions to this region.

We must also acknowledge that much of what we know of this country today, including its culture, economic growth, and development throughout history and across time, has been made possible by the labor of enslaved Africans and their descendants who suffered the horrors of the transatlantic trafficking of their people, chattel slavery, and Jim Crow (7).

01.

ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM Environmental racism refers to the institutional rules, regulations, policies or government and/or corporate decisions that deliberately target certain communities for locally undesirable land uses, and lax enforcement of zoning and environmental laws resulting in communities being disproportionately exposed to toxic and hazardous waste based upon race.

It is a well-documented fact that communities of color and lowincome communities are disproportionately impacted by environmental issues--natural disasters, polluting industries, food insecurity, and much more (2).

In Vermont, 24% of residents have low access to grocery stores, which factors in distance to and quantity of stores, family and neighborhood income, and vehicle and public transportation availability.

A study conducted at UVM showed that BIPOC individuals were twice as likely to have trouble affording fresh food and to go hungry in a month. BIPOC individuals also own less than 2% of private woodland, only approximately 0.9% of agricultural land, and 0.6% of forestland.

02.

Although food insecurity is below average in the state of Vermont, the lack of fresh food available to BIPOC individuals due to the lack of access to grocery stores and land ownership has increased their vulnerability to health risks (4). Due to the lack of adequate transportation, BIPOC individuals are also twice as likely to lack access to a primary care doctor. This has caused disproportionately high rates of COVID-19 among BIPOC Vermonters.

WHY SUPPORT BIPOC-OWNED RESTAURANTS? Supporting BIPOC owned restaurants is one way you are helping close the racial wealth gap, the creation of job opportunities, and celebrating and uplifting diverse cultures.

The restaurants presented in this guide make an effort to improve the health of their community by incorporating sustainability into their love of food. They are taking part in protecting the environment while sharing good food-it's a win-win.

By supporting the sustainable local businesses on this guide, you can treat yourself with amazing cultural and traditional foods while knowing that you’re also improving the environment!

03.

IN BURLINGTON Cafe Mamajuana Café Mamajuana offers a fusion of Dominican, Afro-Caribbean, Italian, and Spanish food and is located at 88 Oak St, Burlington, VT 05401

At Café Mamajuana, they source their ingredients and market products from ethical and sustainable sources, opting to buy local when possible

Red Panda Red Panda offers authentic Nepali, Indian, and Indo-Chinese cuisine and is located at 161 Church St, Burlington, VT 05401

Red Panda grows their own organic vegetables in the summer, while sourcing their spices from the Himalayan region of Nepal

Recommendations from BIPOC Students "Chicken tikka masala & chana masala are so good, the naan is the perfect pair" --Red Panda

04.

Trattoria Delia Located at 152 Saint Paul St, Burlington, VT 05401, Trattoria Delia offers Italian cuisine and is Black-owned

Trattoria Delia sources their fresh ingredients from local farmers that engage in diversified agriculture and preserve the landscape of Vermont. Their wines are also organic, biodynamic and farmer-made.

Pizzeria Verita Located at 156 Saint Paul Street Burlington, VT 05401, Pizzeria Verita offers Italian cuisine and is Black-owned

The majority of Pizzeria Verita’s toppings come from local sources as they commit supporting local farmers and food producers .

Grandma's Spanish Kitchen Located in Burlington, Grandma’s Spanish Kitchen offers traditional Peruvian and Cuban cuisine

At Grandma’s Spanish Kitchen, Chef Josue frequently works with farmers throughout Vermont to include as much local produce as possible

ZAFA Wines 100% woman owned, ZAFA Wines is located at 266 Pine St #122, Burlington, VT 05401

ZAFA Wines uses regenerative farming, a farming method to rehabilitate, protect, and elevate resources available rather than depleting them. They’re committed to never using synthetic fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, or harmful farming practices in order to restore and promote healthy soils.

Owner Krista Scruggs is working to buy the land in Isle La Monte where the grapes are grown and will become the 18th Black land-owning farmer in Vermont when she does. Only 1.3% of farm owners in the US are Black (5).

Strafford Creamery Located in Strafford, VT their milk and ice cream are sold locally at Healthy Living and City Market grocery stores.

The Strafford Organic Creamery has been certified organic farm since 1997. They are committed to sustainable agriculture and dairy (milk and ice cream). They do not use herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers and have reusable glass bottles as a part of their sustainability practices.

Harmony's Kitchen Located in Burlington, they take online orders and serve offering Afro Fusion soul food

Harmony’s Kitchen sources their ingredients from local farms.

Morning Light Bakery Morning Light Bakery is located at 106 E Allen St #101, Winooski, VT 05404. They offer Hong Kong style desserts, buns, and milk tea.

As Morning Light Bakery only offers takeout, their takeout bags are 100% recyclable-sourced from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative

Recommendations from BIPOC Students "Morning Light Bakery is such a gem! With their extensive selection with baked goods, there’s always something to try. My favorite thing to get are there sesame balls, which only get made every other week. Their boba always gets made so quick, and it’s so convenient to get with their baked sweets!"

"The pork bao is so good, the owners are also so friendly!"

"I loved their hot dog buns (plain and with sauce)! The egg tart was also so good and reminded me of home. Would definitely recommend trying any of the bubble milk tea flavors as well."

A Single Pebble A Single Pebble offers classic Chinese cuisine and is located at 133 Bank St, Burlington, VT 05401 Aside from their sustainable practices, A Single Pebble also donates food, funds, and their space to community groups every single year as they believe giving back is vital to the success of the overall environment and society.

A Single Pebble is part of the Vermont Fresh Network, meaning they practice sustainability by supporting local farms and purchasing organic products. They are also a Gold Barn Award recipient,

THE VERMONT FRESH NETWORK Members of the Vermont Fresh Network (VFN) are required to: Purchase from four or more VFN farmers or producers regularly Spend at least 15% of annual food purchases on Vermont grown or raised items Have a menu containing Vermont products that represent 3 of the 6 USDA Food Groups year-round Participate in local food and farm events at least once during the year (workshops, hosting special dinners, meeting with farmers, etc.)

Gold Barn Award recipients are the top 25% of locally grown or raised food purchasers for that year.

These spots are a bit beyond Burlington but

TOO GOOD TO PASS UP! Green Mountain Potstickers Green Mountain Potstickers offers healthy versions of popular Taiwanese street food.

They sell at various farmer markets and do online orders for orders over $50.

The owner, Carey Kolomaznik, adjusts her recipes to include healthy living principles that she has found in Vermont. They use local produce and organic ingredients, avoid GMO products, and don’t use any of the typical Asian preservatives, like MSG.

They source their ingredients from these farms: Maple Wind Farm Lewis Creek Farm The Pigasus Meats Beer Roots Farm Black River Produce Gizmo’s Pickled Plus

Recommendations from BIPOC Students "I love how wonderful my experience was at Green Mountain potstickers! I got to see them make it on the spot during Farmer’s Market season and the staff are the friendliest people. The food is delicious and their potstickers always come beautiful, but the scallion pancake with their homemade soy sauce is so amazing I think about it to this day."

10.

Schmilk Chocolate (Colchester, VT) Located at 948 Hercules Dr Suite 8, Colchester, VT 05446, they offer vegan milk chocolate with online orders available

Schmilk Chocolate advocates for plant-based eating to avoid animalderived, human-exploiting foods, using cashews in replacement of dairy .

Hangry the Donut Bar (St. Albans City, VT) They are Black-owned and located at 10 Lake St Suite 2, St Albans City, VT 05478 but deliver to Burlington! Call here: (802) 3934404

Hangry the Donut Bar uses quality, local and organic ingredients. All of their fillings and doughs are made with local farm fresh eggs, organic milk, and local organic flour (NittyGritty Flour Company).

BIPOC ENVIRONMENTALISTS TO KNOW Robert Bullard

During the late 1970s, Bullard worked as an environmental sociologist in Houston, Texas where he documented the systematic placing of garbage dumps in predominantly Black neighborhoods. In his 1991 book, Dumping in Dixie, he is regarded to be the first person to fully articulate the concept of environmental justice, often called the "grandfather of environmental justice." Due to his work, he has been named 1 of 13 most influential environmental leaders of the century by Newsweek.

Leah Penniman

Penniman co-founded Soul Fire Farm in 2010, which leads farmer training, youth educational programming, and food justice organizing.

Penniman emphasizes the phrase “food apartheid”--referring to geographical areas and communities where people live in poverty and do not have access to fresh, affordable, culturally appropriate food grown with sustainable methods as opposed to "food desert," which implies that it food insecurity is a natural occurrence.

Isaias Hernandez

Hernandez focuses his work on topics surrounding veganism, zero-waste, and environmental justice, specifically the lack of diversity in veganism through his platform Queer Brown Vegan, an educational outlet and safe space for other likeminded individuals to learn terminology in the environmental movement. He also co-created an environmental magazine, Alluvia Magazine, which highlights BIPOC environmentalists acting for climate justice.

12.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies (6).

S.148, introduced by Senator Ram-Hinsdale, seeks to establish an environmental justice policy for Vermont and would require state agencies to incorporate environmental justice into their work.

By being actively involved in environmental activism, listening to the voices of BIPOC environmentalists and communities, and supporting the restaurants in this guide, you as an individual are supporting BIPOC-Vermonters who, despite facing disproportionalities, are still incorporating sustainability into their practices to protect the natural landscapes of Vermont.

Citations: 1. https://www.waysideyouth.org/2021/03/01/one-anti-racist-action-you-can-take-todaylearn-the-difference-between-bipoc-and-poc/ 2. https://greenaction.org/what-is-environmental-justice/ 3. https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2022/Docs/BILLS/S-0148/S0148%20As%20Introduced.pdf 4. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-u-s/keystatistics-graphics/#map 5. https://usafacts.org/articles/farmer-demographics/ 6. https://www.hhs.gov/environmental-justice/index.html 7. https://www.diverseeducation.com/demographics/african-american/article/15108677/onlabor-acknowledgements-and-honoring-the-sacrifice-of-black-americans

13.