Taste of Soul (TOS) is known for its endless vendors offering the best food around from soul food to Mexican food and everything in between. This year Katherine Alston is bringing a health message with Kathy’s Kitchen.
“I’ve always had a passion for health and wellness,” said Alston. “My inspiration stems from being a mother/wife and my concern about the food I was feeding my family.”
Born in Brooklyn, NY, Alston grew up in Neptune, NJ and graduated from Neptune High School in 1980. She graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984 with a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and Columbia University in 1986 with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering majoring in robotics and control theory.
She later graduated from Cal State San Bernardino in 2004 with a master’s degree in computer science. She was a credentialed project management professional since 2007. Alston’s career field was aerospace and defense where she worked for large firms such as Boeing, Northrop, and Lockheed as well as small research and development firms. She has held the following positions: design engineer, project lead, project manager and general manager.
Alston has decades of experience leading aerospace and defense engineering teams in the development and integration of software and hardware projects for manned and unmanned aerial systems. Her work has supported Space Station, Delta IV, F-18, F-35, B-1, B-2, and Space Launch System (Mission to Mars).
Ok, so this is one smart cookie-of-woman—I think that we can trust her with our health.
“My father and grandfather both died at the age of 57 from diabetes and other health related issues,” said Alston. “My mother died at the age of 67 from diabetes and the resulting congestive heart failure.
“Several relatives have also died prematurely from diabetes and other illnesses.
“I dedicated my life to combating poor health, premature aging, and premature death.”
An avid fitness guru, Alston has spent the past 30 years studying nutrition and healthy eating in order to improve her well-being and the well-being of those around her. In March of 2018, she retired from corporate America to pursue her passion and Kathy’s Kitchen was born and established in March 2018. She is an entrepreneur and the founder of Katheral Wellness Center and Kathy’s Kitchen.
Katheral Wellness Center is a non-profit center with a mission to educate the community on the benefits of healthy eating.
“The center has a motto ‘no one deserves to live a life that is marginalized or compromised,’” said Alston. “To support this motto, the center provides knowledge and tools to help others achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Kathy’s Kitchen is a for-profit company that manufactures and distributes healthy smoothies and juices.
“The smoothies and juices are made with organic, vegan, non-GMO whole foods,” said Alston. “Kathy’s Kitchen focuses on providing healthy nutritional solutions, which contribute to the health and wellness of communities of color.”
Some of the smoothies you can find with Kathy’s Kitchen include Greentastic Meal Replacement, Mangotastic Meal Replacement and Protein Powerhouse. On the juice side of the bar, Alston offers energizing, cleansing Juices, beet Juice and watermelon Juice.
This will be Alston’s first TOS and she wants to help the community stay healthy and keep coming back every year by improving their health.
“I am looking forward to providing healthy food and discussing the benefits of healthy, clean eating to a large diverse group of people,” said Alston.
She added, “food is energy and fuel.
“It is the main component, next to air and water, which allows people to function.”
Kathy’s Kitchen is currently providing free local delivery in the L.A. area. Her smoothies and juices will be available in several retail outlets within the next couple of months.
Follow her on Instagram at KathysKitchenLA for updates and all the latest news. You can also send inquiries to [email protected]
Smart, beautiful and out to help the community be the best it can be—all wins across the board for this year’s festival. Make sure you visit Kathy’s Kitchen at Taste of Soul, Saturday, October 20, from 10am-7pm.
For more information on Taste of Soul, please visit tasteofsoul.org
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