Operations
Tocabe's virtual pantry promoting Native American cuisine, culture
June 24, 2021
In order to bring Native American ingredients and recipes to more people and to better support producers during the pandemic, Tocabe co-owners Matt Chandra and Ben Jacobs launched a virtual pantry —Tocabe Indigenous Marketplace, according to a company press release. The platform, which has been operating since June 14, features at least 40 products from Native American and Indigenous producers, farmers, ranchers and suppliers, including:
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| The Tocabe menu features dishes made with shredded bison. Photos by Rache Greiman |
- Fred DuBray (Cheyenne River Lakota bison producer) and Osage Nation Bison Processing: bison steaks, bison ribs
- Bow & Arrow: Indian corn, blue corn.
- Muckleshoot Indian Tribe: huckleberries.
- Navajo Pride Foods: Navajo blue cornmeal, pinto beans, juniper ash.
- Ramona Farms: tepary beans, wheat berries.
- Red Lake Nation: wild rice.
- Seka Hills: Olive Oil and Elderberry Balsamic Vinegar, honey.
- Ziibimijwang Farm: maple products including maple sugar.
For Jacobs, a citizen of the Osage Nation, and Chandra, the transition from local restaurateurs to national Native food entrepreneurs was a longtime goal, expedited by the global pandemic. After lockdown orders in March 2020, the duo put franchise plans on hold to stabilize their local businesses and prioritize building an online delivery mechanism.
"We are committed to purchasing from Native and Indigenous producers as much as possible to help support business and infrastructure development," Jacobs said in the release. "Customer support keeps Native and Indigenous producers in business, which helps to further build health and accessibility to high-quality foods throughout the country."
The pantry, which carries exclusive Tocabe-made items — dry rubs, a blue corn mush mix and a blue cornbread mix — will expand online product availability this year and will eventually offer ready-to-eat frozen meals. Recipes and information about each product will share stories of the ingredients' origins and the cultural heritage and traditional knowledge of those who produce or grow it.
Making a difference
One of the platform's main goals is to help address food access, food disparity and food sovereignty issues facing many tribes and Indigenous Peoples in the U.S. Through a donation feature, tribal communities, Urban Indian organizations serving Native families, community centers, advocacy organizations and schools benefit by:
- For every two items purchased, Tocabe donates one item to Native and Indigenous community-based organizations.
- When customers buy an assorted 12 pack, Tocabe donates an assorted six-pack.
- The chain will match bulk and wholesale purchases with a 50% donation. (For example, for a 500-pound purchase, Tocabe will donate 250 pounds of food.)
"Through the incredible support of our customers, friends, families and the community at large, we have been able to make this leap with the online marketplace and realize a possible solution to persistent challenges," Chandra said. "We designed the Tocabe Indigenous Marketplace to create a cyclical pattern of community support. Progress and change takes many hands from growers and ranchers to pantries and stoves. Every purchase from the marketplace completes this circle, and we are humbled to move this community-based, reparative and reciprocal model forward."
Drawing from the Jacobs family's roots in the Osage Nation, Tocabe — founded in 2008 in Denver — aims to help educate people on the culinary innovations of Native communities and to increase access to Indigenous culture and traditional knowledge. Specializing in contemporary American Indian cuisine, the menu combines traditional Osage family recipes with elements of modern American Indian fare, according to the release.
Tocabe has two locations in Denver as well as a food truck.
