You've gotta eat. So why not chow for a good cause at one of these three deliciously proactive food events this month? Food just tastes better when it battles injustice and oppression.

Desayuno: A Mexican Brunch at St. Jack

10 a.m.–2 p.m. Sun, July 15, St. Jack, $8–15, reservations encouraged but not required
Start the morning with a fortifying desayuno—that’s Spanish for breakfast, people—bursting with flavors from Mexico City at St. Jack’s pop-up brunch to benefit Pueblo Unido PDX, a local nonprofit that provides legal resources for Latinx immigrants who are detained and/or face deportation. St. Jack’s chef de cuisine Ben Morris will cook up chilaquiles topped with all the essential comforts—runny fried eggs, sikil pak (a creamy Mayan pumpkin seed dip), crispy Oaxacan queso, and salsa verde—as well as a banana leaf-wrapped tamal dulce served with a guava sorbet and pumpkin seeds. Expect buñuelos, too. The treat is often served as a crispy fried flat sheet of dough, but Morris’s are more like fluffy doughnuts injected with whipped cotija and dusted with star anise and cafe de olla powder.

St. Jack’s inventive bartender Justin Garcidiaz has concocted an eccentric, mezcal-heavy cocktail list to accompany the brunch, like a Polanco Margarita—packed with the triple threat of Pueblo Viejo blanco tequila, Cointreau, and St. Germain—and “La Botica,” a shot of mezcal served with Carta Blanca (a Mexican lager), garnished with grasshopper salt and gusano de maguey (fried worm). Buen provecho!

Tender Table’s A Joint for Us: Stories about Weed, Food, Family, and Identity

4:20–6:30 p.m., Sat, July 21, a cannabis-friendly space in inner SE Portland disclosed to registered attendees the day before the event. FREE (to remain in compliance with the OLCC), with seats extended to adults 21+ who RSVP by Sunday, July 15 and have made at least a $35 donation.
Tender Table partners with Tiara Darnell—the Portland-based host of High, Good People, a podcast about cannabis from the perspectives of people of color—for a cannabis-themed storytelling event (starting at 4:20 p.m., of course). The afternoon’s program features women and non-binary people of color sharing their experiences with weed, food, family, and identity. All proceeds benefit the Family Preservation Project, a YWCA program that works to reduce the impacts of parental incarceration on children, families, and the community.

And since it wouldn’t be a proper Tender Table sesh without food, cannabis chefs Dee Cave and Liv Vasquez will be on hand with marijuana-infused cocktails (like a lavender basil linalool gimlet and a spicy watermelon cooler), plus low-dose small bites including gazpacho with smoked sea salt, infused ice cream, and vanilla cake drizzled with lavender lemon curd.

Folklore Pop Up Brunch at Jet Black Coffee

10 a.m.–2:30 p.m., Sun, July 22, Jet Black Coffee, $8-14 ala carte menu (cash only)
Two of Portland’s vegan go-tos—outer Northeast’s punk-fueled Jet Black Coffee and local chef Sean Sigmon’s herbivore pop-up Folklore—team up for a powerhouse plant-based brunch. Profits are earmarked for ActBlue, which provides assistance to people detained at the border and children separated from their families. 

Alongside Jet Black’s signature coffee blend, Sigmon will showcase seasonal produce he snags from local farm faves Ground Work Organics and Gathering Together. His veggie-forward menu includes a summer hash—a mixture of heirloom squash, potatoes, padron peppers, turnips, and a pickled carrot cream—and a mushroom paté filled-patty melt. Also expect sweet and savory sourdough spelt waffles, the former paired with local jam and whipped cream and the latter paired with romano pole beans, tomato succotash, and sunflower yogurt.