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A Kansas City entrepreneur has transformed personal loss into a mission to bring healthy food access to underserved communities, creating Missouri's top juice brand in the process.
Chris Goode opened Ruby Jeans Juicery on Kansas City's east side, naming it after his grandmother Ruby Jean, who died from complications related to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease.
"Most of my tattoos are about my grandma. This is her porch, and I'm looking at my arm like man, I miss my grandma. Grandma, juice, health, purpose. Grandma, juice. Oh my God, I know why I'm here, I know why I'm here," Goode said.
The inspiration for his health-focused business came during a trip to Los Angeles, where friends introduced him to the documentary "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead."
"I'm like, oh my God, this guy was able to change and save his life himself in 60 days. My grandma lived 61 years, and she never realized that, 'oh man, this soul food is killing me,'" Goode said.
That moment sparked what Goode calls a movement to address health disparities in Black and Brown communities, which often lack access to fresh, healthy foods.
"Access to well-being, to the knowledge of a healthier existence, is the most important thing that exists," Goode said.
Goode opened his juicery in a building where he once shopped as a child, making it the first 100% health-focused food business on Kansas City's east side.
"I made this mental note to myself like, man, people are going to know about my grandma," Goode said. "They going to know who she was, who they were. I didn't know what the mechanism would be."
The business has grown beyond Goode's initial vision. In addition to the flagship location, the brand is in Whole Foods across the country.
"We are the number one juice brand in the entire state of Missouri," Goode said. "From this inkling of thought, this passion, this desire, this longing for my grandma, this love of healthy food and juice. To be able to turn that into such a statement, such a mission, is beautiful."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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