Well-sourced ingredients and above-market wages are just the beginning at Bagel+Slice. Chef Bradford Kent is also committed to social, environmental, and financial sustainability — an ambitious triple-bottom-line approach. To further decrease Bagel+Slice’s environmental footprint, Kent invested in an on-site ozone system to disinfect and sanitize the restaurant, thus eliminating the use of harsh chemicals and plastic gloves.

It’s been more than a year since Proof Bakery transitioned to a worker-owned cooperative. The conversion means a more equitable model of ownership, where workers determine how the business is run and can vote to approve larger financial or situational decisions. This band of empowered workers bakes some of the best croissants in town.

Yang’s Kitchen strives to source local, sustainable, and organic ingredients, and pays its employees living wages. Tips are shared with all employees, including kitchen staff. And in an effort to restore the planet and combat climate change, a 1 percent fee is added to every check.

Homegirl Café provides on-the-job training for individuals who have experienced a number of challenges, including domestic violence, single parenthood, gang involvement, and incarceration. On the daytime menu are salads, tacos, sandwiches, and “Homegirl classics” like chilaquiles and machaca. Open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Handed down for three generations, Sara’s Market sells locally-made staples including wine, coffee, and tortillas. Additionally, the corner market is a haven for burgeoning restaurant entrepreneurs, with food trucks and food vendors selling in front of the store regularly.

Named after the Mesoamerican milpa system of cultivation, Milpa Grille was opened by Deysi Serrano in 2018. In addition to serving a menu chock-full of corn, beans, and squash — the trifecta of the milpa system — the restaurant welcomes up-and-comers, including Macheen and Cafe Cafe, to operate under its roof.

With its airy ambiance and well-appointed decor, La La Land Kind Cafe blends in with its surroundings. But scratch beneath the surface to find that this coffee shop is on a mission to normalize kindness and to provide foster youth with career opportunities. The store runs an eight-week program that gives on-the-job training, life skills, mentorship, and customer service training to those leaving foster care.

Owned and operated by the Keeling family since 1984, Simply Wholesome is an all-in-one health food store and vegan restaurant. Come in for spinach patties and vegetarian tacos, and leave with locally made products that line the store’s shelves.

Founded by Imani Jackson in 2017, this smoothie and juice bar is committed to “refreshing urban communities with raw juices and love.” Nature’s Thirst Trap’s refreshing wares are available at the Voodoo Vegan food truck and for local delivery, shipping, and pick-up.

Eat ice cream and do good at this Torrance-based ice cream shop that dedicates a percentage of every sale toward a charitable organization. The beneficiary changes periodically and has included the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and MPAK (Mission to Promote Adoption of Kids) in the past.