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Articles
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| Feeding appetites, and a community |
VOICE writes, "BY JOSHUA GRAY
Growing up on Corbin Place in Northeast, Furard Tate and his brother, Atif, used to race their bikes to the Murray’s discount supermarket on H Street.
“With a large family, you need to be able to get a lot of food for not a lot of money,” Furard says.
Today, the brothers are feeding a much larger family. Their business, Platinum Catering, brings their brand of health-conscious, soul-inspired food to H Streetand beyond. Talking with Furard at Platinum’s modest carryout counter, it’s clear that their mission goes beyond filling empty stomachs."
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“One of our closest friends was murdered right around the corner from here,” he says. “As we got older we looked at ways of not just living in the neighborhood, but of actually making change in the neighborhood. My brother and I were determined to do something from this block that had never been done before. Rather than just putting some balloons or a teddy bear on the corner where my friend passed, we decided to make something grow from this place.”
Platinum’s healthy menu of soul-inspired food is the cornerstone of that change.
“People complained ‘There’s nothing on H Street except carry-out food,’” says Tate, casting an eye at the rowof generic, high-fat, low-nutrition outlets. Platinum’s alternative is lighter and lower in salt, eschewing processed ingredients in favor of fresh ones. And its prices are within reach of everyone in the neighborhood. As we talk, a regular customer comes in; her banter with Furard is obviously a daily ritual.
“This is why we do what we do,” Tate says. “Since the door opened, people would come by, especially this sister. Where else are you going to get fresh greens, fresh green beans, not canned, with a smile, for $5?”
Though Platinum is clearly part of the fabric of H Street, Tate’s zeal for healthy food reaches much further. In addition to catering private functions, Platinum has contracts to supply food to numerous charter schools in D.C. Tate knows that kids need to be well fueled to succeed. The schools are also the best place to push better diets on an impressionable audience.
“We saw that one of the problems in the school system was that a lot of the children were coming to school unprepared to learn because they were hungry,” Tate says. “Without proper nutrition, they didn’t have the ability to concentrate and focus. We figured we could begin to change the way our children eat, and charter schools were the answer. We started with one charter school, 125 children, and we began to see the difference.”
Tate has also established himself as something of a motivational speaker, conducting workshops for the same young audience. He brings a message that’s a rich stew of self-empowerment, positive thinking and discipline.
“We have to give our young people personal responsibility for excellence,” he says. “We tell them ‘We can’t always be first, but we can always be outstanding.’”
After five years on H Street, Tate would like to expand Platinum to include dinner hours and possibly a little seating to compliment the carry out. There’s no timetable yet.
Tate knows that the neighborhood will continue to evolve, and Platinum will evolve with it. No matter what, he promised that he and his brother Atif will continue their mission to bring wholesome, home-style cooking to everyone in the neighborhood. Every month, he sets up a grill outside and the hot food is available to anyone who needs or wants it.
“Once a month we are out here on the street offering a free meal, feeding the community,” Furard says. “I can’t put you in a house, but I can say, ‘Once a month we’re going to have some hot dogs, or some hamburgers or some chicken wings.’ Anybody who comes up — I don’t care how rough you look or how nice you look — it’s a free meal. I really believe that if everybody does that, the ones who fall through the cracks will be caught by somebody right there, ready to help.”
Know of someone making a difference in your neighborhood? Let us know at editor@voiceofthehill.com.
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Posted on Dec 20, 2007 20:35pm.
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