Spokane’s refugee community is learning catering and restaurant management through Feast World Kitchen, a downtown nonprofit that features diverse cuisines from chef-entrepreneurs. Their goal is to help chefs build connections in the community and eventually start their own food businesses.
The nonprofit was an ideal recipient for a $25,000 grant from the Spokane Civic Benefit Fund at Innovia Foundation, founded by former Spokane mayor David Condon and his wife Kristin. “My wife and I so appreciate Spokane and all it has to offer,” Condon says. “We wanted to do something to give back and create an opportunity for others to do the same.”
The grant will enable Feast to better serve Spokane’s immigrants and former refugees by providing a space to learn food service skills and an opportunity to introduce small, immigrant-owned food businesses to Spokane. Supported by the generosity of the community it serves, Feast is helping chefs create a more vibrant and culturally rich place to live.
“We are a group of neighbors,” says Ross Carper, co-founder of Feast. “Some are from Spokane, some are from around the world. We chose the word ‘feast’ because it captures a sense of joyful gathering that crosses cultures. This is the heart behind Feast World Kitchen: demonstrating that all are welcome in our community and have a beautiful contribution to make.”
