One weekend in January surrounded by my AAWPI fellowship cohort, which consisted of inspiring community leaders who helped spark the beginnings of the Asian Food Collective. After much guidance, advice, and encouragement, we launched our first cooking group on April 10, 2023 at the People’s Kitchen. I saw how much potential the Asian Food Collective had and applied to be fiscally sponsored by the Open Collective Foundation in the same month. The Asian Food Collective was featured in CBS Philly in May and by June we were the recipient of the Asian Mosaic Fund’s Family Services & Food Security Grant.

The Asian Food Collective rapidly expanded and moved operations to Old Pine Community Center. Since April, over 500 meals have been donated to the South Philadelphia Community Fridge. $6,987.74 was dispersed via Open Collective Foundation to cover expenses including: fresh groceries, kitchen appliances, to-go containers, and stipends for staff managing the kitchen.

Not only has the Asian Food Collective worked with the People’s Kitchen, Old Pine Community Center,  and South Philadelphia Community Fridge– we have also built partnerships with Philly Asian and Queer; Gapura; and Brain, Gut, and Heart Wellness.

I believe that an important element of food security is not just about increasing access to food, but providing culturally relevant food and community supports. It was a challenging year with a lot of strategic planning to figure out how to scale up an idea into an actual group. I am grateful for volunteers who helped co-create this space and the mentorship of community leaders.

We have an exciting year ahead of us! A generous donor gifted the Asian Food Collective a fridge that will be used to store extra groceries, which will allow us to plan the menu more efficiently. As we continue to expand we are building new ways for people to become involved with the Asian Food Collective beyond cooking on Saturday mornings. These opportunities will be announced in the new year.

Warmly,

Hanna

Founder, Asian Food Collective