UJAMAA KITCHEN
Ujamaa is the fourth principle of Kwanzaa and translates from Swahili to “cooperative economics.” When you participate in Ujamaa Kitchen, you are taking part in a community created to work together to achieve a cooperative economy and learn from each other to grow and become successful.
Applications are currently closed
Origins of Ujamaa Kitchen
In July 2019, a vacant lot was transformed into a community gathering space, replete with murals, live music, and fresh local fare from “Bayview Bistro” chefs. Bayview Bistro began as an interim food/ beverage incubation hub for small business owners with roots in Bayview Hunters Point, San Francisco.
In the spring of 2020, in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, En2action pivoted Bayview Bistro into a weekly food box with the Ujamaa Kitchen Program while also supporting small BIPOC businesses in generating revenue.
What is the Ujamaa Kitchen Program?
The Ujamaa Kitchen Program is a culinary boot camp that provides entrepreneurship guidance, workforce development, and collaborative commercial kitchen space to the Bayview and Black-owned business of the City of San Francisco.
The Ujamaa Kitchen Program aims to create more opportunities for growth, facilitate marketing, workshop business development, administer technical assistance, network with successful Black-owned businesses, and provide access to commercial space at little to no cost.
“The program has provided my business with a ton of opportunity. At the beginning of the Pandemic, I was laid off from my full-time job. When this shift in the program started, it gave my business an opportunity to have a safe place to cook, a professional commercial kitchen, all the essential tools to grow and launch a business. As it grows, [the Bayview Bistro program] continues to develop opportunities for micro-business owners, and men and women of color.”
-Dontaye Ball, Gumbo Social