 International Women's Day is this Monday, and while I don't usually talk insider baseball about how we plan stories at Kitchn, I have to tell you: when this observance came up in our planning cycle I laughed out loud, painfully, at the sheer irony of this observance after a year that has been so catastrophic to so many women. The day, celebrated since 1914, has focused attention on women's rights, achievements, and challenges — and the last of these feels the most relevant during a pandemic when over 5 million women lost their jobs, Black and Latina women at twice the rate of white women; and millions of mothers faced the impossible dilemma of closed schools, losing even the wispy support offered by our society to those raising its future citizens.
Much of this hardship has been borne disproportionately by those who make and cook our food — 372,000 food service jobs were lost in December alone. One of my favorite newsletters led with this arresting quote: "Other countries have social safety nets. The U.S. has women."
But in that bleak picture many of the bright spots are, unsurprisingly, also women, and this weekend at Kitchn we're celebrating five women who have worked to improve the lives of others during this very hard time.
I would love for you to read this piece; all five of these women are doing strong and lasting work in improving our world and the way we eat. They include Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America (as always, I urge you if you can to donate to your local food bank), Paola Velez of Bakers Against Racism, Nikeisah Newton of Meals 4 Heels, and Ellen Bennett, whose apron company has donated over 200,000 masks to front-line workers.
But the first person on the list is the one I know the best and you may know too through your own cooking: Grace Young, the cookbook author and incredible teacher of Chinese cookery. Grace gave me my own wok, which I keep lovingly seasoned and treasure above all my other pans. Grace's mission since the beginning of Covid has been to save Chinatowns — her own in New York City, and others across the country. Thousands of Asian-American restaurants and groceries have closed since the pandemic began, suffering from specific anti-Asian racism as well as the more universal restaurant hardships. Follow #savechineserestaurants, her campaign with the James Beard Foundation, and follow her lead in supporting Chinese restaurants, groceries, and cooks wherever you are.
Read the full piece here: 5 Women Who Made a Huge Impact During a Very Hard Year
Each of these five women are out there working hard to make the world better for those suffering in one of the toughest years in recent memory, and we applaud and celebrate them, and hope you too will follow and support them with us.
To close this email on a different sort of bright note, here are a few things that made me laugh, made me hungry, or brought me joy this past week.
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Sunday, March 7, 2021
In a year that took so much from women, these 5 women pushed back
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