Kristin Schwab
A Philadelphia-area native, Kristin Schwab is passionate about using her love of food and cooking to build community, dismantle oppression, and work towards collective liberation. As a woman of Irish, Pennsylvania Dutch, and German descent, she is deeply committed to uprooting white supremacy. Her life’s journey has taken her from being a cook who uses food to build bridges and tear down walls to being a trainer who facilitates group collaboration, communication, and analyses of systems of power. She currently works at the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance organizing 20 Book Clubs, 20 Cooperative Businesses. During her many years working with foodways and social justice in Philadelphia, she has taught intergenerational cooking classes, trained young people as community chefs, and directed the Urban Nutrition Initiative's award-winning Youth Empowerment Program.
Awarded Grants
2016
Art and Change Grant (ACG)
Related grantees
Overview
Kristin and Laquanda will create a cooking show of flavorful conversations and recipes rooted in Philadelphia. This show will use art, the power of food, and cooking to engage audiences around critical issues such as racism, white supremacy, and gentrification. Each 15-minute show will use culinary arts to illustrate social injustices on personal, interpersonal, cultural, and institutional levels. Laquanda and Kristin’s relationship – built on vast socioeconomic differences and a deep love for one another – provides the foundation for this project, where they hope to inspire others to “cook up” change and communicate across difference with authenticity and vulnerability.
