We started.
So did you.
Founded by experienced culinary professionals committed to helping passionate entrepreneurs who struggle not due to their talent or food quality, but because of external challenges.
Feed the Soul Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Our Story
Before there was a foundation, there were conversations.
The Spark
It was never about the food.
The founders had spent years running Black Restaurant Week and Latin Restaurant Weeks. Every campaign came with the same moment: a business owner pulling them aside to talk about the thing keeping them up at night. It was the books. The marketing. The HR. Systems they had never been taught and could not afford to learn.
The Misconception
They knew exactly what was wrong.
There was a persistent belief in the industry that culinary business owners did not understand their own problems. The truth was the opposite. They just did not have the money, the access, or the infrastructure to fix it.
The People
Every one of them had a reason to succeed.
People who had left corporate careers to open something they believed in. People laid off, building out of necessity. People who poured a culinary school education into a dream, for their families, their neighborhoods, the culture they wanted to preserve.
The Founding
So they built it themselves.
In 2020, Feed the Soul Foundation was incorporated, not as a charity handing out checks, but as a real infrastructure partner, built for culinary entrepreneurs who had the passion and just needed the tools to match.
Why It Matters
Culinary business owners spend every day serving their customers, feeding their neighborhoods, and investing in the communities around them. Most do it without a real support system behind them. Feed the Soul Foundation exists to change that, to make sure the people who show up for everyone else have someone showing up for them.
Read the Full State of Small Culinary Businesses Report: Addressing Support Gaps in Small Culinary Businesses to Drive Economic Mobility, the first report of its kind.
of small culinary businesses say they have raised the standard of living in their community.
intentionally hire people traditional employers pass over — returning citizens, people with disabilities, veterans, seniors.
financially support local community initiatives, and 68% actively contribute to local nonprofits.
of operators employ family members, turning their business into a direct engine of household economic mobility.
of business owners say gentrification is raising their costs and threatening their long-term survival.
of understaffed culinary businesses say they cannot hire because they simply do not have the funds.
Keeping my records accurate and up to date will open me up to more opportunities and a better sense of where I am versus where I need to be.
300+ Business & Students Impacted Since 2020
Over the last five years, the organization has evolved into a national support system for restaurateurs, chefs, caterers, food truck owners, hospitality students, and aspiring culinary entrepreneurs. In 2025, that work reached new heights.
$1.9 provided in cultural awareness initiatives to culinary businesses across the nation.
Provided over $100,000 in-person business training and support to 300+ businesses and students.
Provided over $85,000 for scholarships to high school culinary programs, HBCU's, and HSI's.
Provided over $2.8 million in financial and business development support and resources.
GEt Involved
There is a place for you in this work. Whether you want to support a culinary entrepreneur, fund the work, or bring your business into the community, every path forward starts here.
See Our Programs
Training, funding, and community built for culinary entrepreneurs at every stage.
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Every dollar helps a culinary business owner get the tools they were never taught.
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Partner with us to invest in the culinary entrepreneurs shaping your community.