Entrepreneurs team up with Sunny side café to feed 500 Baltimore families for free

BALTIMORE — As the cost of food and fuel continues to rise, two entrepreneurs are teaming up with a Baltimore staple to make sure hundreds of families don't go hungry.

Daeron Myers and Ramel Newerls have been traveling from city to city, giving back to small businesses and communities. Now they're bringing that mission to Baltimore.

"We know it's important for us to give back in the communities which we come from because we come from humble beginnings," Myers said. "Our goal is we partner together to invest into small businesses but also feed 500 families at the same time."

On Saturday, Oct. 24, from noon to 2 p.m., Myers and Newerls are partnering with Sunnyside Café inside Lexington Market to offer free meals to 500 families.

"We're going into the holiday season," Newerls said. "What's the better way to fill somebody's stomachs up? They may be struggling, they may be down, they may have lost their job, they may be waiting on that next check, and if we could just do that one small thing, they still had that hope inside of them."

The free meal menu will include hot honey chicken biscuits, fish on a bun, banana pudding, and Pop-Tarts. Fresh, healthy juices from Rich Juice Bar, another Black-owned business, will also be available.

For Sunnyside Café, the event carries deep personal meaning. Co-owner Kristian Knight-Miller says a fire destroyed the business in 2020, forcing them to start over from scratch. It was the support of the Baltimore community that helped them rebuild.

"I learned a lot from the fire. I learned a lot from the support of our community," Knight-Miller said. "I learned how much Sunnyside is needed in Baltimore City."

Knight-Miller says this giveaway is a chance to return that love.

"This will be their time to really feel something great, warm-hearted, something made with love," Knight-Miller said.

For Myers and Newerls, the event is about more than just food — it's about bringing light to a city that has faced its share of hardship.

"There's so much culture in the city of Baltimore, a lot of love, but we've also been dealing with a lot of loss and trauma," Myers said. "We want to be the light in the city of Baltimore and bring some positive energy."

Newerls, who has roots in Baltimore, says showing up in person is what matters most.

"I gotta come back and put my 10 toes on the ground and get back to my community," Newerls said. "Let them know I'm not just talking about it. We're here to serve. I'm here to love on the people because at the end of the day, I am nothing without the community."

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