The first black women owned vegan food restaurant

Hey, y’all! My name is Daijah, and I am the CEO and Chef of The Walking Jerk, an all-vegan / plant-based menu serving up some of the best vegan tacos, Jamaican and Hispanic-style food in the midwest!

We have working and building our company since December 2022. We've gained so much knowledge and experience in just a few short months of operating as a take-out/delivery service as well as offering catering. When I say we I mean my Partner Andrew and myself, can't forget to mention those who have helped us during our journey of course but primarily Andrew and myself run The Walking Jerk as well as take care of our 4 soon to be 5 children.

If you haven't had The Walking Jerk just yet our menu consists of mouthwatering Jerk Jackfruit tacos, Vegan Steak tacos, Supreme tacos, Jerk Phoneix oyster mushroom tacos, loaded nachos, burritos, the most delicious rice and beans, freshly squeezed lemonades, vegan housemade cheesecakes and so much more and as some of you may know the vegan food scene here in Madison is a bit scarce so we are always excited for newcomers to check us out! Don't hesitate!

We have dedicated our savings, tax returns, paychecks and assistance to this business and I'm proud to say that we have had a great deal of success from being a hit at annual events in Chicago to wowing meat eaters here around the city! But unfortunately, we have experienced some great losses as well. Recently a family member decided he wanted to help our company grow, and after some negotiation, it was decided that a food cart was the best route to go. After myself and Andrew went on a quest to find the most ideal food cart we found ourselves getting a key to a beautiful food cart equipped with everything needed for us to hit the streets of Madison, Andrew and I got some assistance to purchase our food cart license and was ready to roll after passing inspection.

Things took a turn downhill when a family situation became complicated and our dream for operating and having a food cart slipped out of our hands. We then agreed it was best that we find another route to purchase a food cart solely through our hard work and dedication.

The remaining goal here is to purchase a used food cart which will run us about $20,000 this estimate is based on the quality of the food cart we are looking for as well as the price of the last food cart purchased, other expenses are things like wrapping the food cart with our logo, proper POS equipment, state certified equipment like a refrigerator, fryers, a generator, truck attachment, and anything else that may be necessary to function properly.

We are also currently behind on bills in our home due to our decisions to sacrifice and continue to operate Thursday and Friday at the FEED Kitchen on the northside, as you can imagine this is very limiting for us and cause us to put more in than we get back most times as well as paying to be part of events around the city with the hopes that we will make enough money to pay off outstanding bills between our home and the kitchen we operate out of as well as save for our food cart

Being a black woman in this industry is extremely difficult and can even be disheartening. I come from a struggling family and unfortunately, I have experienced a lengthy list of abuse, trauma and other horrifying circumstances. Despite it all, I know my passion, love, dedication and tenacity will allow The Walking Jerk to make a great impact in Madison, the Midwest and even beyond that! This is not a small dream, this is a BIG dream that needs some support.

If you are not able to donate at this time I do ask that you share the link to help spread this message.

Thank you to you all