On Saturday, July 12, Universoul Café, a food recovery organization, was setting up for their event, Turnip the Beat, at a lot next to the Greater Sacramento Urban League. 

Creative director Andru Defeye said that while they were setting up, he sent people from their group to get pop-up tents, tables, and chairs from their building in Del Paso Heights. 

He said that after the group arrived, he received a call from the owner and CEO, Tonya Mack, in absolute heartbreak and tears, explaining that the food recovery space had been broken into. 

Universoul Cafe is one of Sacramento’s food recovery organizations that cook food and help feed the community. They’re also instrumental in creating jobs and mentoring youth.

When Mack first arrived at the building, she said she didn’t notice anything through the gates, but when they opened the doors, the entire place was demolished. She said the building looked like a tornado had run through it, and that’s when they realized they were ransacked.

Their electrical power was cut during the break-in causing most of the food from the refrigerator to spoil.(Photo courtesy of Universoul Cafe)

“There was feces and urine and ceiling tile and wire and conduit bits everywhere, and it literally looks like a scene out of a horror movie,” Mack said. “Doors were kicked open, everything was gone and, as we walked through, I couldn’t catch my breath because I realized, my god, they took everything.”

The ceiling was also caved in, according to Mack, and a lot of their equipment, including Blackstone grills, tables, silverware, toilet paper, canned goods, and the power was cut, causing the food in the refrigerator to spoil.

Mack said the damages and stolen goods exceeded $100,000. Some items were purchased, while others were donated.

Despite the discovery that their building had been ransacked, Defeye said the team came together in the midst of that and still showed up at Turnip the Beat to feed the community and create art with them. 

“I think that really shows the love, compassion and the passion that our team has for the community,” Defeye said.  

Feeding the community

Universoul Cafe was established in November 2019 as a food recovery organization that collects edible food and creates meals from those items, distributing them to the community. 

But their work of feeding the community started way before 2019. Mack’s family has been cooking for each other her whole life.

“We take casseroles to each other when somebody is sick, we take food next door when you just have extra to give away,” Mack said. “So what Universal Cafe is is not new — generations and generations and generations of big mamas have been doing this long before Tonya Mack started.”

Their building is located in Del Paso Heights at the renamed 1840 Community Collaborative. Mack said that with the ransackers killing the power, she doesn’t see them being able to go back because everything was destroyed. 

“It will take a lot of effort,” she said. “You would have someone who would have to rewire all of the zones…They cut into the walls. So it was very calculated in the amount of damage that was done and how they did it.”

The ceiling of the Universoul Cafe building were damaged from their break-in.(Photo courtesy of Universoul Cafe)

Universoul Cafe has launched a GoFundMe campaign and is seeking community support during this challenging time. As of July 24, they’ve almost reached their goal of $14,000.

Defeye said that speaks to the service the community provides.

“Our community, in the community we serve, doesn't always have a whole lot of money to give,” he said. “But they got a lot of love and shares and pushing out the word and letting people know has been huge.”

According to Mack, there is a space for grief when there’s a loss, but logistically, they’ll start again and rebuild. Mack is fully confident that they’ll be able to serve the community again.

 “I said this before, and I'll always say it: we are bruised and not broken. We did it before. We will do it again,” Mack said. “We believe in the love that the community has for us, that we have for them, and that all of us have a purpose to serve.”

Universoul Cafe has continued to cook food and serve the community at their recovery kitchen in Old Sacramento. It’s called Our Space Event Space & Kitchen, located in Firehouse Alley, owned by Chef Derris Mosely. 

In the meantime, Mack said they’re looking for a new place to call their home.

Next steps

Building community is always at the forefront of what Universoul Cafe does, according to Mack, and what they want to see happen is finding a new home, replacing the stolen items and being able to pay their young people. 

“Our insurance, which we do have, will not cover that,” Mack said about potentially not being able to pay stipends to the young people. “We pay the folks that come in and help us, and we've created so many jobs, so we want to make sure that we have a way to continue to support those who are supporting us.”

Universoul Cafe was able to secure a small grant of $22,500 from Golden 1 Credit Union, which would allow them to pay stipends to young people participating in their Young Gents mentoring program.

The program serves young men who live in the Del Paso Heights area who have been shot at, have shot or have been involved in or at risk of being involved in gang violence.

“We teach them about food safety and food recovery, and more importantly, we teach them about being in community,” Mack said. “So food isn't just food, right? Food is a language of love, and we're teaching them how to love each other and how to love themselves. We just use food to do it.”  

Universoul Cafe also works with those who are currently living in non-traditional home communities or are unhoused. There’s also a new division within Universoul Cafe called the Justice-Impacted Division, where they work with people who are previously incarcerated and are having a hard time finding employment. 

Mack said she would love to see one of the bigger companies or nonprofits help her and the organization get back on their feet.

“If it were Christmas or Kwanzaa, as it may be, I would love for Raleys, Winco, Foodco, Nugget, Coca Cola, any of the big ones, or even any of the bigger nonprofits to sponsor the warehouse for us,” she said. “I would love to see someone step up and say, ‘We'll take that bet. We'll sponsor the warehouse. Let you get on your feet. We'll cover the cost.’”

Mack also hopes that when people see what happened to them, they can reflect on how to better serve their community in a small way.

“I hope that hearing about what we do on a larger scale will inspire people to do it on a smaller scale,” Mack said. “We come from strong stock, all of us. We're built for this. We can do hard things because we're all we got. And if we don't stand together in times of adversity, then who are we? Are we who we say we are? Who are we?”