Black-Owned Vegan Restaurants Win $25,000 from Discover Card

Credit card company Discover recently awarded several Black-owned vegan restaurants $25,000 each to help them recover from the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Grant recipients include New York City-based Seasoned Vegan (which recently opened online marketplace The Super Vegan Market); Minneapolis-based Trio Plant-Based (the only Black-owned vegan restaurant in Minnesota); Brooklyn, NY-based Sol Sips (which partnered with vegan brand Forager Project to support Hands4Hope, an organization that runs after-school programs for at-risk youth); Sofia & Grace Cookie Co (a vegan cookie shop in Brooklyn that offers 30 different cookie flavors); and UnSoul Food (a vegan soul food restaurant that opened in Philadelphia during the pandemic). 

This summer, Discover committed $5 million to support Black-owned restaurants through its “Eat It Forward” program,  an amount that is being distributed in increments of $25,000 to 200 recipients nominated by their fans on social media. “COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on businesses across the United States, and we want to help effect positive change by offering financial support to Black-owned restaurants, a segment of the economy that has been disproportionately impacted during this pandemic,” Julie Loeger, Discover Executive Vice President and President of US Cards, said. “Through this campaign, people across the country can support their favorite Black-owned restaurants.

Discover’s giveaway is wrapping up but fans can still nominate Black-owned vegan restaurants to be considered for the grants until October 31. Official rules can be found here.