I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Toyota Green Initiative Dinner at Tree Sound Studios. Green Eats & Dope Beats was hosted by none other than Mali Hunter, Owner of Tree Sound Studios. This dinner brought together the 3 things that I love: Gardening, Hip Hop, Food/Wine.
The Toyota Green Initiative (TGI) is an environmental stewardship platform designed to educate and empower the African-American community on how to adopt sustainable habits. Since 2010, TGI has created experiences demonstrating simple ways to live a ‘greener’ lifestyle . With active HBCU campus ambassador programs and a coalition of sustainability experts and influencers, TGI is powered by Toyota to help our communities decrease their environmental impact.
This dinner, as well as the Toyota Green Pop Up Kitchen, were all put in place to help promote sustainable living, educate and revitalize a local Atlanta farm.
Container gardening is how I create sustainable habits for my own family. We have been growing our own food for years in the small spaces of our decks and yard. Using my own platform I created a movement, Urban Gardeners United, through this I have been able to influence hundreds of my followers to grow their own food too. It is these efforts that allowed me to be selected to attend this dinner.
Each table was decorated with large terrariums full of succulents and wooden wine kits, courtesy of Toyota Green Initiative! I was happy to take one of these beauties home with me!! Succulents… and wine, make me SO happy!! Seriously. I thought I was gonna cry when someone handed me one to take home when it was over!
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In the house were Toyota Green Initiative Coalition Members:
Mali Hunter: COO/Partner, TreeSound Studios
Stic: Musician/Rapper, Dead Prez
Robert “Rob Veggies” Horton: Founder & Exec Director of Trap Garden
Yoli Ouiya: Sustainability Expert
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We got to hear them all speak about their missions and their passions for green living. They believe that living healthy is our legacy and they take an active part in educating our community.
Toyota Green Initiative Dinner
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The dinner was very special. It was curated by Mali Hunter in its entirety. Every dish was prepared using locally grown and sustainably sourced ingredients. It was a real treat to talk to Mali about how long she cured and cooked the greens that we ate! After all, I am also a FOODIE!
Appetizers
Avocado Toast with and without Turkey Bacon
Deviled Eggs
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Entrees
Baked Lemon Pepper Tilapia
Slow Cooked Lamb with Tomatos, Okra, Potatoes
Vegan Veggie Stuffed Zucchini Roasted with Vegan Cheese
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Sides
Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Quinoa with Seasonal Roasted Vegetables
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Beverages
Wine
Prosecco
Strawberry Lemonade (Fresh squeezed)
Desserts
Southern Style Peach Cobbler
Fresh In-Season Sorbet with Seasonal Berries
Plus MANY other delicious things that were NOT on the menu (Like that good ol Fried Chicken!)
ALL of this was followed by a performance by Stic of Dead Prez.
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It was a beautiful evening that was shared with beautiful people who care about the environment and our community. Sustainable Living is not that hard, the main thing is to just get started. I’m not perfect at it but I try. Growing my own food was the start. Who knows where else it will lead ? I don’t all I know is that I find joy in what I do. Every time I post a container gardening video and it gets views or people join my gardening group on Facebook I know that I am making a difference no matter how small. I plan to continue my journey and spreading the word about creating sustainable habits that eventually lead to sustainable living.
Thank you to Toyota Green Initiative for: This dinner, Allowing me to experience Afropunk and for loaning me this sassy blue 2017 Toyota Prius to attend all of these events!!
–To Learn More About #ToyotaGreenInitiative
To Learn More About Tree Sound Studios
10 Reasons Why You Should Plant a Garden!
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