Support migrant/refugee and BIPOC chefs and neighborhoods toward ownership and equity
Our mission is to advance economic equity for aspiring chef entrepreneurs from poor and working-class refugee and immigrant communities seeking to start their own food businesses. Through our incubator program, the Open Test Kitchen, Oakland Bloom provides hands-on support, income generating opportunities, a diverse range of real-life commercial cooking experiences, and case management support.
Through the development of cooperative models, Oakland Bloom aims to address systemic inequity within the food industry and change the status quo — developing new models that center equitable ownership, accessible and fair financing, shared resources, mutual aid, and intersectional values along food and racial justice — in a way that puts power back into the hands of the people. Oakland Bloom‘s approach heavily involves working and learning with and alongside the community by collaborating with its network of chefs, local nonprofits, businesses, and mutual aid groups. Together, we hope to provide emergency relief, income generating opportunities, and support for our base of chefs and the greater immigrant community in Oakland and the East Bay.