Our Year in Review
In case you missed it-- rewind our work from 2024
When we set out to make BIPOC Foodways Alliance, we had one goal in mind: to break down barriers between cultural communities and we know of no better way than using food as a tool to do so.
Our secondary mission was to re-center the voices of people of color— this is where “dismantling white supremacy” comes in. Traditionally, food journalism has centered restaurants, and the white men who own them, as the primary focal point for storytelling, and we knew this just could not be where the most important stories about people and food reside. And we were correct about that.
The most important stories about food, and feeding, and food people takee place in the home. Women are the rulers of the home kitchen, specifically, women of color— in particular Black, Indigenous, and immigrant women— the true keepers of culinary legacy and wisdom. We have said this before, and we will continue to say it over, and over again.
Just in case you did not catch all of our stories from last year— and what beautiful stories they are— please take a cruise through this back catalogue of our work from 2024.
Thanks to our talented videographer Serena Hodges, and photographers Uche Iroegbu, Jaida Grey Eagle, and Darin Kamnetz who contributed to this work. The most special thanks go to our co-hosts, who come to this project with vulnerability and courage— often not knowing what story will unfold even until the full story is told at our Tables.
Lastly, thanks to our Table guests, who similarly arrive at these events, sharing and exposing parts of themselves, their histories, and their families in ways that might even be unexpected to them. We often say irreverently that if a tear wasn’t shed, it’s not a BIPOC Foodways Alliance Table. We hope that these accumulated tears make up far more joy than sorrow, and we believe that they do.
We are proud and humbled at this past year’s body of work, and please know that 2025 holds much more in store— including brand new programming— for you to engage in and enjoy.
If you or someone you know would like to become a Table guest (or a host!) please fill out this short form.
If you wish to contribute financially, please do so here. Every little bit counts towards breaking down barriers and dismantling white supremacy through food.
Happy New Year from BIPOC Foodways Alliance to you and your family.
We hope you eat deliciously, and meaningfully, in 2025.
Maryan Abdinur’s story of finding home where you happen to be.
“Home is where my feet are,” is a mantra often repeated by her nomadic grandmother, and now herself. She’s “Somali as bananas,” and yet a proud Minnesotan. Read her full story here.
Watch Maryan’s story here.
Sarah White’s story of Hawk Collective, a place for rest. Read her full story on creating sanctuary here.
Phon and Soktevy Sann confirm the true power of cooking in their beautiful, yet complicated story of familial communication. Read their story here.
Watch Phon’s story here.
The Mimms’ family story of Black Joy: a story all too under-told, and a story they insist upon. Read it here.
Watch Vivian’s story here.
Jeremy Moran learned how to cook tamales from his mother Elsa. She learned from her mother. Theirs is a story of long-distance love in a cornhusk. Read about it here.
A family story buried through secrets and white supremacy, revealed through technology and media, Mecca & Sabrina continue to uncover their family history using food as another tool. Read about their search for Nigeria here.
Greens have the power to cross cultures. We explored this theme with our beautiful event Queens of Greens. Read the stories of our culinary queens here, here, and here.
The story that might have started it all: Sean and Mecca explored the intersection of Black and Indigenous foodways at a dynamic dinner at Owamni. It was a reprisal of a dinner they hosted in New York City at the James Beard Foundation Platform in Chelsea Pier. Watch a video about it here.
A bit of housekeeping: If you enjoy my more personal ramblings, I’ve set up a new Wordpress page here. There is no paywall, so it’s absolutely free! I’m not promoting anything— just personal stories; mostly journaling and travel notes. I can’t be held accountable for how often (or little) I post. Stripped down— very few bells, zero whistles.
-XO M