Feasting on Peace: Refugees, Food, and Community Building with Ross Carper

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What happens when refugees share their culinary heritage with a new community? The story of Feast World Kitchen reveals something extraordinary about the power of food to transform lives.

Ross Carper didn't set out to launch a nonprofit restaurant. His journey began with a food truck side hustle and volunteer work helping refugee families navigate life in Spokane, Washington. When these worlds collided, he discovered how sharing meals created deep connections and support. That insight sparked a vision: a restaurant where refugee and immigrant chefs could earn income, build skills, and share their cultural heritage.

Today, Feast World Kitchen hosts a different chef family each day, all from refugee or immigrant backgrounds. They prepare authentic dishes from Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Sudan, Burma, and dozens of other countries. For customers, it's a delicious culinary adventure. For the chefs, it's transformative – they might earn $2,000 in a single day, develop entrepreneurial skills, and forge meaningful connections in their new community.

Beyond the restaurant, Feast operates a drop-in program helping newcomers navigate housing, healthcare, employment, and other essentials. Community health workers, many former refugees themselves, provide culturally sensitive support. The result is a comprehensive approach to refugee resettlement built around food and hospitality.

In an era of increasing hostility toward immigrants, Feast demonstrates a radically different approach – what Carper calls being "pro-human." Their model replaces traditional charity dynamics with mutual hospitality, recognizing that refugees bring valuable skills, knowledge, and cultural gifts. Through something as simple as sharing food, they're building bridges in a divided society and showing what's possible when we welcome the stranger.

Hungry for a different way of thinking about food, community, and immigration? This conversation will leave you inspired – and probably craving international cuisine.