Have you ever been to the Harrison St. Whole Foods at dinner time. It’s swarming with people picking up a quick dinner on their way home for work. The deli and food bar, in particular, represent fast food at its best. Unlike McDonald’s, Burger King, and Taco Bell, Whole Foods ready-to-eat items are made of real food. And the working folks of Oakland just love this place. Anyone who thinks Black people don’t care about healthy, natural food has never gone to the Whole Foods in downtown Oakland between 5 and 7pm, where African American shoppers are out in force, asking for samples, checking ingredients, and using their dollars to support a different approach to quick and easy meals. My natural foods preference in Farmer Joe’s Market on Fruitvale Ave., but that doesn’t prevent me from really, truly enjoying the experience of being surrounding by men and women of African descent who are trying to put better, healthier food into their bodies.

Ajuan Mance