EatOkra App

EatOkra is the anti-yelp. A resource that is, in their words, “a food-themed directory that encourages fellowship through one specific avenue, black food”. If there is a single reason why food has been such an important part of our lives, this is it. A window into culture, but more importantly the people and the stories that make up that culture. In 2016 Anthony Edwards Jr and Janique Bradley launched the EatOkra App when they noticed there were no resources for black owned restaurants. As the two began to catalog them for the app they discovered there were many. With the help of their third co-founder, UX/UI designer Justin Johnson, GetOkra was born. In the four years since launch the app has added more than a dozen cities. As we sit squarely in this radically necessary 2020 shift this directory becomes an incredibly important resource to support for our black community. Not to be overshadowed, you’ll also have the opportunity to devour some of the most delicious food you’ve ever tasted.

This brings us to an equally important point in this post. Supporting black owned food businesses is one way to raise awareness and support in an ongoing way. This movement is not a today and tomorrow thing but a “this year, next year and so on” thing. Supporting black owned food business’, restaurants, farmers and packaged goods is a worthy way to vote two to three (sometimes four) times a day for something that makes an immediate impact. We’ve pulled together this list of links that have been curated by some amazing people across the country. Thank you all for doing this work. Start with downloading the EatOkra App. I’m sure they are adding to their listings thanks to these curators. We’ll be highlighting many of them in weeks to come and hope you’ll choose to support the ones in your community often.