Help The Traveling Plate Open Its First Home, One Plate at a Time!

Hi, I’m Kimberly A. Coleman, born and raised in Chicago and Harvey, IL, and the heart behind The Traveling Plate, a soul food catering business rooted in love, tradition, and community. What started with cooking for my family, daycare kids, and neighbors turned into a calling. I’d tell the children, “You can travel the world just by tasting different food.” That’s the spirit of The Traveling Plate ; food that nourishes, teaches, and brings people together.

Opening a restaurant has been my dream for over 25 years, but life took me on a different path. I became a full-time caregiver to both my parents. My father, who battled cancer, and my mother, who lived with dementia. Even through those difficult, sacred years, I never stopped cooking, serving my clients, and pouring love into every plate. I even earned my master’s in psychology because giving is simply who I am.

Now, it’s time to pour back into my dream: a cozy brick-and-mortar space in Chicagoland where people can gather, eat, heal, and feel at home. Your support will help make it real, covering renovations, kitchen equipment, staffing, and more.

This is about more than food, to me it's about legacy, love, and creating a space where everyone is fed in more ways than one.

Thank you for believing in me.

With love,

Kimberly