Booker’s Soul Food was born amid the pandemic and the racial reckoning that followed George Floyd’s murder (photos)

MACEDONIA, Ohio – Current events spurred chef Claude Booker to create a Soul Food pantry brand. The first influence was the pandemic. The second was the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“Our core business was steam table and buffet items that were fully cooked,” says Booker, who worked in food service. “When the pandemic hit, all chef’s departments throughout the country were shut down. At first, people didn’t know how you got Covid, and all the buffets shut down.”