Yellow Banana, a retail grocery platform founded in 2021 by four Black entrepreneurs, currently owns and operates 38 Save A Lot grocery stores across metropolitan areas including Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, Jacksonville, and Dallas. In November 2022, the company received a $13.5 million subsidy from Chicago’s City Council Finance Committee to acquire and renovate six additional Save A Lot stores in the city’s South and West sides. This initiative aims to address food insecurity by providing affordable nutrition to underserved communities.
The founders of Yellow Banana are Michael Nance, Ademola Adewale-Sadik, Walker Brumskin, and Joseph Canfield. Nance, Adewale-Sadik, and Brumskin met at Yale Law School, with Adewale-Sadik and Brumskin also holding MBAs from Harvard Business School. Canfield brings extensive experience in business operations and co-founded the venture capital firm 127 Wall alongside his partners. Their collective mission is to combat food deserts by delivering essential nutrition to working families at affordable prices.
Yellow Banana’s efforts are particularly significant in areas with limited access to fresh and affordable food. By revitalizing existing stores and ensuring long-term operations, the company strives to make a lasting impact on community health and well-being.
