A food bank in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has come under scrutiny for only providing food to people who are black and indigenous, telling white residents not to take advantage of its resources.
Mykela ‘Keiko’ Jackson launched the Food Trap Project using a Minnesota state grant. The project was intended to help poor residents in need of food who live near the Sanctuary Covenant Church in North Minneapolis. According to the Daily Mail, the pantry was open as of July 27 but was forced to close and relocate just months after opening when Jackson tried to prevent white people from obtaining food.
The pantry had a sign on the door which read, “The resources found in here are intended for Black & Indigenous Folx. Please refrain from taking anything if you’re not.” A local chaplain, Howard Dotson, claimed that when he personally went to the pantry, he was denied service because he is white.
“This is not building community, it’s destroying it,” Dotson said in a statement to Alpha News. “I went over there and confronted her. I told her that I saw the sign and I asked if she really thought she could take grant money from the state and discriminate against poor white people.”
In response, Dotson filed a civil rights complaint, which prompted Jackson to call the complaint “political violence.” Dotson also claimed that Jackson told him in person that the pantry was only for black and indigenous people and suggested he use the church’s free pantry across the road.
“There was no one there directly turning them away. They felt entitled to the resources that were not for their demographic – white privilege is real,” Jackson said. “We hope these white patrons can go about their day and not harass us anymore.”
Jackson later posted on Instagram that the pantry was relocating due to a “Karen.”
“It has been recently brought to our attention that our partnership with Sanctuary Church may not be fully aligned with our mission due to a recent incident with a ‘Karen’ last week,” she posted. “Although the church likes our concept they feel our commitment towards directing these resources towards Black & Indigenous families ONLY is exclusionary to other POC & White members of the community that use their establishment.”
The food pantry also posted on Instagram that it was relocating but did not admit the move was due to the criticism it had received.
The money used to create the food bank came from a Paths to Black Health grant, which is intended to reduce health disparities among black residents and foster a “vibrant and thriving” community in the area. Sanctuary Covenant Church released a statement explaining that they were not aware of Jackson’s intentions for the food bank.
“When Mykela Jackson approached us to set up her Food Trap Project we were excited to support her. This would be a place accessible to anyone 24./7. No demographic [information] necessary. Anyone in need would be welcome,” the church said. “Nowhere in her original proposal did she indicate that she would be restricting usage to specific communities. This does not align with the vision and mission of the Sanctuary.”
“When we discovered her signage and social media posts, we asked her to abide by her original proposal. Ms. Jackson was unable to do so and decided to move her Food Trap elsewhere. The deadline for moving her trap is 9/30. We’ve already cut power to it,” the church added.
This piece first appeared at TPUSA.
