Our Mission
BIPOC Foodways Alliance (BFA) understands that food and culinary traditions are an invaluable cultural asset across communities and generations. Most people have a personal food story to tell, and these stories dig far deeper than a restaurant menu can reveal.
BFA curates, documents, and hosts collaborative culinary events that center the important cultural asset of these food stories. By sharing stories of what, why, and how we eat, we learn about one another’s cultures, breaking down barriers between communities. We are stronger together. We cannot fight hate from silos.
Our Approach
We understand that historical, white supremacist US culture works to erase stories of multicultural diversity. We seek to bring different cultural groups together through cooking, eating, and storytelling to produce lasting, meaningful bonds and strongholds to fight white supremist culture.
Our work is to find the keepers of foodways knowledge and intellect. We go beyond the traditional approaches of “foodie culture,” listening to underrepresented and marginalized people, stories, and histories.
We seek to be inclusive. Rather than silo individual cultural expressions, we understand that the reality of being BIPOC in the US contains many parallels. We seek to create cohesiveness through food, culinary expressions, and experiences.
We listen to our communities and inquire about serving them in their own image; we ensure that our work serves the community, and we ask how foodways and preserving food culture can benefit them.
We uplift beautiful, dynamic, and interactive stories that showcase the vast diaspora and diversity of BIPOC Foodways in North America and around the world.
We are fun. Reverence for food culture shouldn’t be stuffy or elitist. We insist on a good time.
Meet the Founding team
Mecca Bos
Executive Director
Mecca Bos has been a Twin Cities based journalist and chef for more than 20 years. In these dual roles, she has become known as one of the leading local voices for marginalized voices in the food community.
Sean Sherman
Collaborator
Sean Sherman, Oglala Lakota, born in Pine Ridge, SD, has been cooking across the US and World for the last 30 years. His main focus has been on the revitalization and awareness of indigenous foods systems in a modern culinary context.
Sabrina Fluegel
Content Director
Sabrina Fluegel is a PhD scholar of Hispanic Linguistics whose studies explore and highlight issues of language, race, & society in media.
PBS's Almanac visited BIPOC Foodways to capture our July 2023 Table that featured Todd Harris and his mother's story.
BIPOC Foodways Alliance in Numbers
4 out of 10
Americans are BIPOC, but only
3 of 10 food writers are BIPOC
7
Table Events in 2023
5
Calls to Action for solidarity across Black and Indigenous communities in our Truth and Reconciliation Petition
50+
combined years of experiencing racism in the food industry