Community Kitchens was founded on the belief that food is a powerful expression of dignity and care. Our work has always been about more than meals. It is about protecting cultural traditions, creating opportunity within the food system, and ensuring that nourishment is never used as a tool of exclusion or punishment. Through food, we bring people together across language, culture, and circumstance — with intention and respect.

Oakland is one of the most diverse cities in the country, and its food tells that story. Immigrant-owned restaurants are not only businesses; they are community anchors. They carry histories shaped by migration, resilience, and survival. The chefs and restaurants we honor this evening do more than cook. They preserve culture. They create livelihoods. They build belonging, one meal at a time.

Community Kitchens invites you to our Sanctuary Supper on September 16, 2026, hosted at Bloc15. On this evening, we invite you to gather around food — to stand with Oakland’s immigrant neighbors, celebrate the cultures and cuisines that shape this city, while also supporting food justice in our community.

This evening is not only a fundraiser. It is a public act of affirmation. At a moment when immigrant communities are being targeted and treated as expendable, we choose to gather in a different spirit. We choose to celebrate the immigrant restaurants, chefs, and food workers whose labor, creativity, and traditions nourish Oakland every day.

When you join us, you are not simply attending an event. You are showing up and taking a stand for a vision of community rooted in care rather than fear. You are aligning yourself with the belief that feeding people is an act of justice, that immigrant communities are central to Oakland’s future, and that dignity must be practiced, not just promised.

Your support makes it possible for Community Kitchens to serve meals with dignity, create pathways to employment and leadership within the food system, and advocate for a future where nourishment is valued over punishment, and community over division.

CK Board of Directors

 

CK Gala Committee

 

CK Host Committee