Photo by Erin Nelson.
Tyrone McCloud hands a sample of “Go Green” pressed juice to David Sauger as Sauger places his order at Kale Me Crazy in downtown Homewood. The business recently changed owners to Worship Center Christian Church in Birmingham.
A Birmingham church has bought a Homewood café to offer jobs and healthy food options in Homewood and later to locations in Hoover and downtown Birmingham.
Van Moody, pastor of The Worship Center Christian Church at 100 Derby Parkway in Birmingham, said the church purchased Kale Me Crazy in late fall 2021.
“At The Worship Center, we believe in healthy living and in providing healthy options to help people live their best life,” Moody said in a press release. “The purchase of this Kale Me Crazy location is an entirely new approach to community development by the church. It allows us to provide opportunities for residents to eat healthier foods, while at the same time it allows the church to provide jobs to underserved members of our community.”
Moody told The Homewood Star he spoke with the CEO of Kale Me Crazy, based in Decatur, Georgia, after the Homewood café had not kept pace with the success of other locations around the country. After hearing Moody’s thoughts on how to improve the café and the lives of its customers, the CEO offered the church an opportunity to purchase the location and bring two more to the area.
Moody said the church is “honored” to serve Homewood and added that as the church assumes operation of the business, it will improve the food quality and service of Kale Me Crazy, as well as renovate the space.
Kale Me Crazy will bring 20-30 jobs to each location, offering a way to improve the lives of employees as well as patrons, who will benefit from the store’s focus on healthy eating options, Moody said.
The cafes offer “juices, smoothies, salads and wraps to support a healthy lifestyle,” according to the press release. Moody said Alabama as a state has a lack of healthy food options, and while it often impacts marginalized communities more, everyone suffers.
“There’s a reason why marginalized communities remain marginalized,” Moody said. A lack of access to healthy food is one of the “pillars of poverty,” he said.
“I can’t eat better if I don’t have access to eat better,” Moody said.
Expanding Kale Me Crazy is one way to expand those food options for all communities, Moody said. While it might be a “pebble” in the effort to improve food options, it hopefully will have positive effects, he said.
The church focuses on serving the underserved and has multiple campuses along with a child development community, counseling center and more. The question church members often ask themselves is, “How do we help people live better lives totally?” Moody said.
The aim of the church is to help people spiritually, physically and in all ways, Moody said. He and his wife try to model that, in part, by living a vegan lifestyle, to show the impact of healthy eating.
The church will also renovate the space, adding wood paneling, countertop space and new wall decor, Moody said.
For more information on the church, visit twccc.org.
