I’m doing a couple of things for Lent, and I could use your help. During Lent, I will only be buying things from businesses owned by those who belong to marginalized people groups (LGBTQ+, POC, differently abled, etc.), so I could use your suggestions of fabulous businesses that I should support. Also, I will be doing daily blog postings of people talking about their experiences of being marginalized, in an attempt to lift up voices that are often not heard. So, if you have some great materials that have helped you understand the experiences of others, or if you have written about your own experiences and think they would be helpful for me, please pass them on.

This has spurred quite the conversation on Facebook, so I thought I would start a list of places to eat and shop (in and around Schenectady, or online), in case others would like to support these businesses as well. I’m delighted to take additions to the list.

Puzzles Cafe

Ambition Cafe

Tara Kitchen

Persian Bite

Tesoro’s

Zen

Pho Queen

Liberty Fresh Market

Niskayuna Co-op

Honest Weight Food Co-op

**I think what we’ve established here is that eating out during Lent will not be a problem.