Femeika Elliott

Femeika Elliott promotes food health and reproductive justice in Knoxville, Tennessee. She is recreating the food landscape with the community to increase access for those who need it most and expanding the perinatal landscape in Black maternal health. Femeika shares resources that help community members grow food, holistically maintain health and build resilience.

Femeika founded health foods brand Meik Meals in 2019, the in-home nourishment Lotus Program in 2022, and the food and land-justice collective Rooted East Knoxville in 2022. Her background in whole foods education, sacred medicine, ancestral practice and social work inform her work and service in her community. Passionate about health, food justice and Black equity, Femeika is committed to women’s health and preservation of culture and ancestry. Through her activism and role as founder of the Knoxville Black Maternal Health Conference, she has championed maternal health statewide.  

By establishing community gardens and mobilizing resources, Femeika has helped increase access to fresh, healthy food for East Knoxville residents. This is crucial in areas where access to nutritious food is limited. In addition to her systems-level work, Femeika provides day-to-day insight and supports food education and wellness programs that teach people how to transform everyday dishes into healthy masterpieces using fresh ingredients. Her work encourages healthy dietary habits and promotes overall well-being to encourage Black health, liberation and restoration. 

For more information on her work, visit www.thelotusprogramexperience.org and www.rootedeastknox.com.