We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jenaé T. Mitchell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jenaé T., thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I was born in Saint Louis Missouri and raised in Kansas City Missouri! The community that I was raised in did not feature healthy foods and gardens. When my daughter was 8 years old, I noticed that she had some digestive issues. After a series of doctor visits and a relocation of states, we decided to go vegan. This meant that we were removing all animal and dairy products from our diets.. Immediately, I saw a drastic change in my daughter, Jurnee’s, thinking, behavior, and overall health! Once we committed to living the lifestyle I got the urge to move back home to KC and share this knowledge in the community that had raised us both. We moved back home to open a vegan restaurant/food truck so that it would combat all of the disorders, diseases, and cancers that were plaguing our people. Our mission is to provide healthy and plant based foods in minority communities and we do this daily!

Jenaé T., before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Vegan Jurnee is a ministry that provides healthy and plant based foods in minority communities. We offer pop ups, catering services, meal prep, and cooking/preparation workshops. We aspire to be a sustainable business with no waste. It is important that we minimize our environmental impact while serving the community. Vegan Jurnee fosters a welcoming culture where families gather. We designed it this way because diseases aren’t typically hereditary through genes but are passed down through tradition and habits.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My business partner, Michale Morgan, and I met in junior high. We were 6th graders. We actually became friends when were turned 18 years old. We have always been strategists and team players. We both posses different strengths that give us great balance.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

We literally started this business without ANY capital. We’ve been fortunate enough to have many resources that kept us afloat and gave us a segway into this business. Ourspot Kc was our first investor! They allowed us to get our start on their food truck and supported the business every step! G.I.F.T KC awarded Vegan Jurnee a grant that really catapulted us into great success. Also, Mattie’s Foods offered us an opportunity to take their business boot camp course and it has been a true blessing to be connected to OurSpot Kc, G.I.F.T KC, and Mattie’s Foods!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Veganjurnee
• Facebook: Veganjurnee
• Other: TikTok: veganjurnee