Javonne Sanders

Owner, Toss It Up

Food Service | South Los Angeles

Javonne Sanders built Toss It Up to solve a problem most people drive past without seeing: South L.A. is a food desert, saturated with fast food and nearly devoid of fresh, healthy options. Her mobile salad company isn't just a business, it's a nutritional equity intervention, designed to serve the essential workers who power the neighborhood economy but can't access the food that keeps them performing at their best. That model depends on the community showing up. And then, the community stopped showing up.

During periods of heightened immigration enforcement, Javonne watched the city go quiet. Farmers markets emptied. A community health event she catered for kids and health care workers drew no one, because the organizer was afraid to promote it on social media for fear it would look like a trap. Javonne eventually stopped doing farmers markets altogether. She pivoted away from the public-facing model her business was built on and toward the slower, harder work of building a permanent location where she can serve her community without depending on people feeling safe enough to leave their homes.

"People weren't coming outside, no matter what nationality. The whole city got quiet. And when your community doesn't show up, there's no point in being out here. Those gaps in my revenue reports are now a brick wall when I try to get the resources I need to grow."

The revenue gaps from that period now follow her like a shadow. When she goes to access capital to grow, the inconsistency in her financial record—gaps created by fear, not mismanagement—reads as instability to lenders. The enforcement didn't just cost her sales. It built a wall between her and the resources she needs to grow.