PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After more than 15 years of working in the health and wellness industry, Ayana Bennett quit her corporate gig to pursue something new.
In February, Bennett opened Da Smoothie Jawn in North Philadelphia on Girard Avenue to provide fresh juice, smoothies, bowls and education.
“I want to provide education in a space where people feel comfortable asking questions that they wouldn't feel comfortable anywhere else,” she explained.
Bennet says she’s observed firsthand how health outcomes like diabetes and hypertension disproportionately affect more people of color – in part, due to inequities in access to healthcare and healthy food options. This is why she opened the business: to make health and wellness trendy and accessible.
“I get a lot of people that actually come in here and say, ‘I have diabetes, or I have high blood pressure. What can I order here? What can I have here? And what can I do to change it?’ And those are the people that I want – not saying I don't want the health nuts, but they already know what they're doing. They're already on the right track. I want the people that are going to ask the difficult questions, especially because I can provide that education.”
She says was inspired by her uncle, Amin Akbar who died from brain cancer, to start this journey.
Related
“He was my superhero. So I just remember, like, not wanting to leave his side…He was like the biggest loss like I've ever took in my life.”
To honor him, she has a picture of Akbar placed in the front of the store.
“When I was meditating, I would see him in my dreams, in my meditation, and I felt like that was confirmation for me that, like, I'm on the right track, and sometimes he just was there cheering me on and I'm like, ‘Okay, this is it’,” she said. “So having this photo of him here, it creates warmth and comfort for me. And every morning that I look at it … It makes me feel like I'm okay. And I'm going to be okay, no matter what happens in this business, I'm going to always be okay. And I'm protected.”
Related
While the issue of health equity is complex, Bennet says Da Smoothie Jawn is addressing the inequities, and working towards ensuring that everyone can live healthy lives – one smoothie and conversation at a time.
“It has inspired me to make sure that men are educated, making sure they're taking care of themselves, making sure that the community is educated,” she said.