Healthy Eating in Englewood

Chef David and students host a power breakfast during the City Council Black Caucus Breakfast, May 2016, at Trinity Hospital. From left Unique Parker, Chef David Fuller, Shakayla Greg, and Alderman Gregory Mitchell.
Chef David and students host a power breakfast during the City Council Black Caucus Breakfast, May 2016, at Trinity Hospital. From left Unique Parker, Chef David Fuller, Shakayla Greg, and Alderman Gregory Mitchell.

Healthy Eating in Englewood

By Safiyyah P. Muhammad

While the Whole Foods Store in Englewood recently celebrated its grand opening, it also marked a very special time for Chicago Chef David Fuller. Fuller, a culinary arts & hospitality teacher at Chicago Vocational School (CVS) and founder of Eating to Live consulting, will have his very own vegan “green foods dishes” in all 50 Whole Food Stores in the Midwest region.

Fuller will feature two vegan dishes, including southern kale and the other, braised greens (a combination of mustard, turnip, collards and kale) will be located in the store’s hot bar section.

“The opportunity to have my vegan dishes in the store came about when I met with a Whole Foods Prepared Food Buyer for the Midwest Division, back in January 2015. I took six signature dishes for sampling. Whole food liked all of the prepared dishes, but the two selected choices was the southern kale and braised greens. These products were selected in hopes that it will appeal to mainstream customers.” Fuller said.

Fuller is passionate about healthy eating and dieting. After adopting a healthy eating regime, Fuller started a consulting business called “Eating to Live.” He said, “I adopted a healthconscious attitude back in 1992, while I was still in college. I read both books of “How to Eat to Live,” by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. At that point, I started eating consciously and encouraged others to do so. When I started my business in 2000, I named it “Eating to Live.”

Fuller offers healthy cooking classes for children, adults and corporate “lunch and learn seminars," according to an “Eating to Live” press release.

He said, “I want to get the message across that chronic ailments are due to poor eating habits. It is not hereditary conditions that are attributed to our sickness, but our sickness is due to poor eating habits.”

Along with being an entrepreneur, Fuller teaches a three-year culinary arts and hospitality program to high school students at Chicago’s CVS vocational school. There, students learn how food is grown and cultivated.

They also learn about food sanitation and recipe development. They’re taught soft skills such as speaking proper English, the importance of being courteous to guests and the decorum of food service so they are employable in the food service and hospitality industries. Upon completion of the program, students receive a Food Service Sanitation Certificate.

Fuller’s goals for the “Eating to Live” program include offering a healthy eating program to local residents and teaching them the correlation between healthy eating and longevity.

"One of the projects in this business that I want to work on is to target people of color and bring back to the community the importance of eating healthy and try to get people to change toxic eating habits. Young people are not getting this information at home, school or church. It has to start somewhere,” Fuller said.

Fuller was on site during the morning of the Whole Foods grand opening. He was recently interviewed on an ABC Channel 7 segment of the Whole Food Grand opening story, which aired September 26th.

The Chef also appeared on ABC Channel 7 Heart and Soul, where his Eating to Live business will be featured on October 23rd. On October 5, WCIU Channel 26 hosted Fuller during its cooking segment.

Latest Stories

Latest Podcast

STARR Community Services International, Inc.