Living a plant-based lifestyle is becoming more popular and Violife’s new program — backed by Wu Tang’s RZA — is set to help the growing community.

While the plant-based market grows, Black-owned restaurants have hit losses during the pandemic.

According to a press release, Violife launched its annual Plant Grants program to “help these restaurants give everyone – vegans, flexitarians, and the plant curious alike – an easy and inspired way to eat more plant-based food every day.”

The vegan cheese brand selected five recipients to receive funding of $20,000 each.

“With the 2021 Plant Grants program, we’re tackling plant-based food inequity head on by empowering Black-owned restaurants to offer more plant-based dishes to their communities – dishes that will delight customers and keep them coming back for more,” Lisa Akey, Head of Away from Home Marketing for Violife said in a statement.

As a vegan himself, RZA aligned with Violife’s mission toward more plant-based food accessibility and hopped on board with their initiative.

“I’m excited to work with the Plant Grants restaurants because they are on the front line of the plant-based revolution in their communities, through their recipes and the individual touch they put on their dishes to give their customers a great meal,” RZA said in a statement. “We are what we eat…It’s a journey, which is why we need more restaurants like these grantees to help show us the way with delicious plant-based food.”

Vegan chef pioneers Lemel Durrah and Laricia Chandler Baker are the 2021 Plant Grants Chef Mentors. A press release states: “As the 2021 Plant Grants Chef Mentors, they are working side-by-side with the grantees to provide guidance on everything from menu development to community outreach, as well as building a successful plant-based restaurant business.”

The 2021 Plants Grants recipients are listed below:

Learn more about the 2021 Plant Grants program here.

Violife

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