As a full-time student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology as well as a chef and business owner, Jordyn Roberson has a lot on her plate.
Roberson, a junior majoring in human development and aging with a minor in nutrition and health promotion, started her catering and meal prep business, Jordie’s Joint, in the fall of 2022. Prior to launching her own business, she had been cooking from a young age and had begun blogging about food and fitness during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Alongside her busy school schedule, she provides meal prep services, caters events, and sells mouthwatering meals at pop-up events on the USC campus. She recently held a pop-up on February 9 at SC Black Flea in honor of Black History Month: the menu included marinated jerk chicken wings, creamy baked mac and cheese, stewed cabbage and caramelized plantains.
“Coming to an event like this means community,” Roberson said. “It means serving people, and that’s what makes me happy: just being able to feed everyone and put a smile on their face.”
For her, studying gerontology while running her business has highlighted how crucial food is to the process of aging well.
“Food in general is so important to the lifespan, and what you eat and what goes in your body reflects on how you age,” she said. “Knowing how to cook and learning what to cook is very important to how you age.”
