Four layered cheese Mac n’ Cheese, collard greens cooked in oxtail and chicken broth, starchy cornbread, high fructose corn syrup covered yams, smothered fried chicken, and boiled chitterlings with a touch of hot sauce, red drinks, and banana pudding: the key to a perfect home cooked soul food dinner to most African Americans living in the south. These foods contain more saturated fats and are sweeter than most other typical food dishes. The soul food culture emerged from slave days, primarily in the deep south, around the Cotton belt. African slaves were given the unwanted and less desirable leftovers that the whites did not care for, and transformed it to edible dishes for their families, changing names like pig intestines and coining the word “chitterlings.” Slaves were forced to eat the animal parts that the white people threw away.  The dishes created from this time period created a culture within the African American communities that is celebrated on special occasions or at the end of a hard work week. The African American community is proud of the soul food culture they have created, but along with their pride, they are suffering from many health related problems associated with the high fat and low nutrients diet they have adopted.

With the rise in health problems in the African community but also an increase in adopting a more healthier living, a demand for healthy soul food has entered the market. Answering our cries, Dellz on the Macon has provided the community with a healthy, vegan friendly alternative to the traditional soul food, keeping soul food flavors but ditching the unhealthy eating.

Dellz on the Macon is a vegan restaurant located in North Charleston that serves dishes from the delicious Jazzy Pizza to the tasty protein smoothies. Recently they held an event called the “Recovery Brunch.” The purpose of this brunch was to educate people on healthy spins to traditional soul food dishes while informing their audience on the holistic remedies of food. They offered “shots” which were a mixture of herbs and fresh pressed juice. Absolutely delicious!

Not only does Dellz on the Macon satisfied my taste buds to the maximum, they also solved some economical, social, and environmental justice issues. The delicious food was vegan, meaning they cut down on tons of water usage and indirectly limited forest destruction and biodiversity loss, while improving the economy by flourishing as a local business, while also not conforming to institutional racism. The stereotypes that vegan food is expensive and not meant for African Americans were proven wrong when Dellz on the Macon opened and hosted the recovery brunch.

You can bet that I’ll be at Dellz on the Macon as much as my wallet allows!