Laquanda Dobson
Guided by a love of food, family, and community and her passion for social change, Laquanda Dobson has been active in local, national, and international youth empowerment and social justice organizing since she was sixteen. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she is known for creating and building lasting relationships, filling stomachs, and warming hearts with her cooking. Her love of food and culinary arts has taken her from being a prep cook, catering events, and teaching kids, adults and seniors how to prepare recipes that are affordable, healthy, easy, accessible, and delicious. Recently she has followed her heart’s pull towards cooking for Black farmers and exploring the flavors of the African Diaspora.
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.
