{"id":81928,"date":"2026-01-27T13:15:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=81928"},"modified":"2026-01-27T13:15:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:15:48","slug":"a-kitchen-serving-up-opportunities-to-immigrants-and-women-of-color","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/a-kitchen-serving-up-opportunities-to-immigrants-and-women-of-color\/","title":{"rendered":"A Kitchen Serving Up Opportunities to Immigrants and Women of Color"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Leticia Landa (center, back, in blue) is the executive director of La Cocina, a food-business incubator helping immigrants and marginalized women get their footing – even in hostile times. (Credit: Erin Ng)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For the past 20 years, La Cocina<\/a>, a nonprofit incubator based in San Francisco, has been a haven for immigrants<\/a> and under-privileged women looking to launch food businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s helped dozens of them get off the ground since its beginnings as a test kitchen hosted by a cohort of community organizations. In the past two decades since its launch, more than 150 businesses have gotten their footing through La Cocina\u2019s startup program, with over 90 of them still operating to this day \u2013 despite women business owners throughout the U.S. continuing to struggle<\/a> to stay afloat as critical startup and growth resources elude them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

La Cocina\u2019s success stories include Cambodian eatery Lunette, which was featured on \u201cNetflix’s Chef’s Table: Noodles\u201d and whose owner, Nite Yun, was named a 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef; and Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas, a Mexican establishment run by Alicia Villanueva that grew from door-to-door tamale sales to partnering with Alaska Airlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

La Cocina\u2019s staff<\/a> and volunteers, many of them food-industry veterans, have also supported hundreds more of these business owners through remote consultation services. The organization\u2019s drive, and results, recently won La Cocina<\/a> the 2025 Basque Culinary World Prize<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leticia Landa, its executive director \u2013 the daughter of Mexican immigrants, herself \u2013 says that there is now \u201cextra symbolism and extra weight to having this very global, public recognition for two decades of work.\u201d Work based on a simple guiding philosophy: \u201cEntrepreneurship being something that should be available to everyone, particularly in the context of the food industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She continued: \u201cEvery day, I come to work, and I feel the importance \u2013 not just in San Francisco \u2026 but widely and broadly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n Seasoned: Women Culinary Pioneers – Cecilia Chiang\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

Lifting Up Women Who Need It Most<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Immigrant communities are under particular strain at present, as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to grow its ranks<\/a>, launch new sweeps<\/a> in more communities, and is now asserting an ability<\/a> to enter homes without a judge\u2019s warrant. Public scrutiny of the agency, which is tasked with enforcing immigration policies, has grown following the shootings of Minneapolis residents Renee Good<\/a> and Alex Pretti<\/a> by members of its ranks \u2013 their killings being just two of numerous injuries and deaths<\/a> reported among ICE detainees and protesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In San Francisco, a sanctuary city, hundreds of protesters have marched in solidarity<\/a> with Minnesotans, and with Bay Area residents<\/a> who have been targeted by ICE. Landa, too, is vocal about her support for immigrants. \u201cI feel a real sense of importance around protecting our community,\u201d she says, adding that she will talk about the varied, thriving businesses she sees growing through La Cocina \u201cto counter the current climate\u201d whenever the opportunity arises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added: \u201cLa Cocina works with immigrant women and women of color \u2013 who have always been excluded from our economy. We have done this for 20 years, and we will continue to do so,\u201d no matter what.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not the only broader, social challenge the organization has faced in its existence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be sure, La Cocina has seen great successes, from the overall growth of the incubator program to the publication of a cookbook<\/a> full of clients\u2019 recipes and startup stories \u2013 offerings that have been funded by a mix of donations and corporate-backed grants<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the organization also weathered the spread of Covid. \u201cIt all stopped,\u201d Landa recalls of the restaurant world when the pandemic first hit. About 10%<\/a> of all eateries in the U.S. wound up closing due to lockdowns and other Covid mitigation measures. But, Landa proudly adds, all of the restaurants that went through La Cocina\u2019s program survived the tumult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And throughout these many ups and downs, the heart and soul of the mission has remained the same, she says. The plan going forward? \u201cMore of the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, with more growth, that is. In addition to welcoming new would-be entrepreneurs, Landa would like to continue sharing her program\u2019s curriculum with more online clients. And, she continually advocates \u201cfor the importance of small-food businesses in the context of city building,\u201d making sure San Francisco officials keep ventures like those run by La Cocina\u2019s alumnae in mind when revitalizing downtown areas or sourcing food contractors for city events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such positivity and solidarity \u201ccounters the bigger picture,\u201d Landa says, and she feels fortunate \u201cto be able to push for the things we value as a city\u201d through her work \u2013 \u201cto celebrate how awesome this place, and its people, are.\u201d ◼️<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n Amid Angry Rhetoric, Kitchens Helping Immigrants and Refugees Are on the Rise\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

La Cocina, a San Francisco-based incubator, helps marginalized women make their way in a tough business \u2013 and political \u2013 environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":81929,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"La Cocina is helping immigrants and marginalized women get their footing - even (especially) in hostile 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