Dekai Dockins noticed a gap on Fort Wayne’s South Side. Fast food and fried options were everywhere, and fresh, healthy choices were hard to come by. So she decided to become the alternative. Through her mobile eat service, operating as Lett-Uce Toss, Dekai sells salads, smoothies, and other healthy options, bringing them directly to barbershops, credit unions, clothing stores, and the city crews who are on the road all day. The idea grew from a simple belief: when people are offered a healthier choice close to home, they will take it, and her early sales are proving her right. Dekai self-funded the business with $500 she saved herself, careful to grow without taking on debt.
With help from the Fortitude Fund, she is covering permit fees and her commissary bill and putting the rest toward a food cart to expand where and how she serves. Her long-term vision is a full salad bar on the South Side, a healthy, welcoming spot her neighborhood can call its own.
