As the world continues to navigate life as we know it through COVID-19, this couple realized that Black grocers were missing when it came to the food delivery market.

Rhandi and Jonathan Altidor decided that they would discover the solution to this with The Better Buggy, a grocery delivery service for Black-owned food suppliers and farmers in their home of Atlanta, reports Because of Them We Can.

“We are always team ‘buy Black’ whenever we can, wherever we can- why don’t we fill this void that’s out there and help empower these local Black-owned stores and create this service because it wasn’t there,” Rhandi told Because of Them We Can. “I told my husband that it was really frustrating that we weren’t able to support Black-owned stores because a lot of the major outlets that offer [grocery deligery] don’t have smaller Black-owned businesses available.”

Both educators in Fulton County Schools — Jonathan, a school counselor, and Rhandi, a middle school teacher — the couple used their downtime to create their business all while balancing parenthood and married life.

“Starting a business in the middle of the pandemic was crazy. Even though we were home there was a lot we had to do, but still considering COVID-19 with the safety measures. Initially, everything was going so quickly, we had to slow down and ensure we’re doing things correctly,” Jonathan said, according to Because of Them We Can. “It was a blessing that we were able to form this type of business during COVID because there was a demand for people to have their groceries remotely. I think that played a part in us being able to scale so fast.”

For the couple, who both grew up in Georgia, their business is about creating a legacy for their family. Rhandi emphasizes it’s all about them utilizing their resources to impact the Black businesses in their area who are often overlooked. They also want to give the community access to fresh food from people who look like them.

Congrats to the Altidor family on their new business!

Black Grocers

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