Meal center shakes it up with first-ever Kwanzaa feast

Dec. 31—NEW LONDON — The New London Community Meal Center serves lunch every weekday, but this Friday, there was a special theme: Kwanzaa.

Volunteers served up rice, black-eyed peas, collard greens, honey lemon yams, vegan "meatloaf," cornbread, and desserts as dozens of people came through the line during the hour-long meal service.

Activist Maulana Karenga founded Kwanzaa, a pan-African holiday, in 1966 based on African harvest festival traditions. The seven principles of the celebration hung on posters on a wall of the New London Community Meal Center: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujaamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith).

The meal grew from past celebrations held by New London husband-and-wife Ibiju "Baba" Bandele Asante, who attended culinary school in Washington, D.C., and Adwoa Bandele-Asante.

Last year, the couple ― who are both vegan ― served a meal to a small group of people. One of the guests was Debbie Phillips, who serves with Adwoa on the meal center's diversity, equity and inclusion committee.

"This year we were looking to expand ethnic events," said Phillips, who was sporting red, yellow and green ― Pan-African colors ― earrings she got from a vendor at Sailfest and a Black Lives Matter button as she volunteered. For example, the meal center recently had a Hispanic heritage dinner.

Executive Director MaryAnn Martinez said she believes the meal center can be more of a community center, and she hopes to do more meals centered around a holiday. She's open to ideas from "anyone who really has a passion for a holiday that's centered around a meal."

As for the other days of the year, she said kitchen manager Mark McQuillar is a "magician" ― but too humble to say so ― at coming up with meals from the center's various food sources.

A good meal, plus a broader sense of community

"Kwanzaa, to me, means a chance to unapologetically unify the people of African descent, and determine for ourselves what goals and objectives we need to thrive as a people," Adwoa said. "We don't want to just hang in there, but we want to continue to achieve and thrive."

Adwoa explained the significance of the items on the menu. There was the yellow Basmati rice with peppers and onions; Basmati rice is popular in India but Adwoa noted there is a significant East Indian population in Trinidad and Tobago, where her husband is from.

Next in the serving line were the black-eyed peas, which are traditionally eaten in the South on New Year's Day as a symbol of good fortune for the new year.

"It's a hearty pea and we're a hearty people," Adwoa said. The vegan meatloaf served is called "neatloaf" and is made from chickpeas, black beans, walnuts and "vegan crumbles" that mimic meat.

"I think it's a great thing to have that you're exploring someone's different cultures; you're getting a new taste of life," said Ben Abraham, who was eating with Sharmaine Gregor and their 7-month-old child. Abraham is a former neighbor of the Bandele-Asantes and Gregor works at FRESH New London, which provides food to the meal center, and both were at the Bandele-Asantes' Kwanzaa celebration last year.

"Not many places have a community meal center where everyone is welcome," Gregor said, and Abraham chimed in that you meet people from different walks of life.

Indeed, the meal center's website calls it a place where people can come "with no questions asked," and while people eating there Friday enjoyed the special meal, they also praised what the meal center does throughout the year.

"I think it's really amazing what they do here," Joslyn Wakefield said, adding that it "brings the community together, especially on holidays where people don't have their family to go to."

She has been coming here for about a year and a half, after getting out of Stonington Institute for drug addiction and being referred by the New London Homeless Hospitality Center, and has started volunteering there as well.

While eating his dessert at the same table as Wakefield, Marcus Gans commented that a lot of communities in the country don't have a place for the homeless to go to get a warm meal. He has also lived in New Jersey, Florida and Illinois but said "they do a lot more in this state for people who are down and out on their luck than anywhere I've been."

Gerald Allen Stevens said he was passing through to visit his son elsewhere in Connecticut, and that "we need more places like this. I hope places like this pop up in New York even, where I'm from."

e.moser@theday.com