Migrant Kitchens

We are all migrants whether descendants of settlers, colonizers, seekers, or enslaved. Each of us originated from somewhere else, unless our ancestors descended from indigenous peoples. And yet with passion, communities both embrace and demonize migrants, indigenous, and refugees across the United States and the globe. To counter xenophobia, Migrant Kitchens is about the embrace, and our capacity to love all who cross borders, dare to transgress, and risk lives to protect loved ones. Migrant Kitchens stories derive from one of the most diverse regions of the world, Queens NY. Of the nearly 2.5 million inhabitants of this fourth largest city in the United States, over 50% of the population is immigrants. Around 160 languages ricochet off the public school walls in 53 neighborhoods. Abundant culinary diversity endures amidst the high concentration of cultural variety. Foodways travel. To survive and find their bearings, many Queens migrants, new and old, work in the food industry. In kitchens at home, on the streets, or in the restaurants, Migrant Kitchens recognizes food as an anchor and as an entry point for migrants to make a living. Food is familiar. It is refuge for the refugee. The utmost human act, to feed, is also the most loving act. Entering the story through food allows me to relay deeper migrant chronicles of social, political, and economic challenges, survived. (Scroll down to watch 9 short films, also on Migrant Kitchens Vimeo.)

Queens NY Neighborhood Maps

based on US Census data by place of birth and language spoken