Events
Our Seat at the Table is organized around three stools of enrichment: Nutritional Literacy, Culinary Diplomacy, and Identity Foundation, supported by in-person gathering events and supplemental programming.
UPCOMING!
UPCOMING!
STAY TUNED….
For our next Event Announcement!
As we look towards the future of our programming, we are excited about the possibilities of working with many different local organizations to serve our community and create opportunities to achieve our philanthropic goals through our four key pillars: Food Equity, Nutrition Literacy, Culinary Diplomacy, and Identity Foundation & Connection.
Past Events:
Second Nurture Fundraising Gala, 2024
In the wake of a tumultuous conflict between Israel and Palestine, Our Seat at the Table wanted to bring together groups of people with all different cultural backgrounds and beliefs to promote empathy and understanding through one of our four key pillars - Culinary Diplomacy.
Culinary Diplomacy is the use of food and cuisine as instruments to create cross-cultural understanding in the hopes of improving interactions and cooperation. We believe that implementing this kind of empathy is key to creating a better world for all of us to live in.
Our Seat at the Table partnered with Second Nurture, an organization that supports foster children and their families, as they hosted their annual Fundraising Gala and community gathering. This was also the premiere of She Is Us: The Story of Judge Songhai Armstead, a short film depicting the inspiring story of former foster youth and first black president of UCLA Law, Judge Songhai Armstead. The short film was created by a group of Muslim Second Nurture foster youth, and brought together tons of diverse members of our community for this special viewing.
This alone sparked thought-provoking conversation, but Our Seat at the Table aimed to take it a step further. As a part of our Culinary Diplomacy initiative, we created custom mugs with hot cocoa mix for all sponsors and attendees. The idea is to go forth and inspire the community to get to know someone who may come from a completely different background over a cup of hot chocolate; a nurturing and comforting way to create conversation around such pressing topics in society.
The event was a huge success! We look forward to our continued partnership with Second Nurture for more events to come!
Galentine’s Day 2024
On Saturday, February 10th, we hosted several female foster youth for Galentine’s Day - a Women's Empowerment Culinary Workshop. The idea behind it was to teach these girls how to bake cookies and cupcakes from scratch and decorate them. We created the space for discussions of gender equity all while creating community and friendship over the joy of baking with love. Afterwards, we packed up gift bags with all the baked items, a teddy bear donated from Bear Givers and then dropped them off with an event at Upward Bound House - a transitional living shelter for young women who are unhoused with children.
We wanted to express the idea that girls in a vulnerable situation can empower girls also in a vulnerable situation. We all have something to contribute to the world. We all matter. It was so meaningful to have Our Seat at the Table collaborate with three non profits, Foster Nation, Bear Givers and Upward Bound House. Not only did we all create lifelong bongs and friendships, but seeing the smiles and appreciation of all the women at Upward Bound House with their kids carrying the bears in one hand and a cookie in another hand was something none of us will ever forget!
Thanksgiving 2023
We kicked off our programming this year with our Community Thanksgiving Dinner with Foster Nation, a nonprofit that supports and empowers foster youth aging out of the system to become self-sufficient adults. Marin led the Foster Nation youth through a grocery store trip together, where she and the Our Seat team taught basic nutrition literacy, how to pick produce, and to check expiration dates. Marin also created individual packets of recipes and meat and sanitation safety kits for the youth to take home. We prepped and cooked 9 different recipes, before sharing a community Thanksgiving dinner, all wearing matching sweatshirts with the Foster Nation/Our Seat logos, that we raised money to purchase. Inspired by events like this, Our Seat at the Table is creating additional events throughout the year as part of a “community meal” series.
To continue to serve those who do not have access to healthy foods, I am cultivating a food and nutritional literacy masterclass module that will be taught through Foster Nation and launched in February as a pilot program.