Culinary Connections with Aishah Alfadhalah: Building Community through Mera Kitchen Collective

Aisha immigrated to the US from Kuwait for school when she was eighteen, and came to Baltimore by way of Milwaukee and Portland, Oregon. Since moving, she has engaged with Baltimore’s refugee community as a mentor and interpreter. She often finds herself invited into the lives, homes - and stories - of individuals, and feels fortunate to see glimpses of their journeys to America and views on their current situations.
For Aisha, stories are powerful in understanding the past and changing future narratives around refugees and immigrants. She believes that food is a collection of stories that are triggered and shaped through memories of feelings and current interactions of one’s environment.
Aisha is a cultural broker, bridging and bringing together different cultural backgrounds, and helping to amplify self-narratives. Aisha provides the vital link to refugee and immigrant community, ensuring that at every step of the way, Mera’s decisions reflect the actual needs of the community it serves. In addition to her roles with Mera, Aisha serves on the Baltimore’s Community Advisory Board for the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.

Aisha’s favorite food is Iranian bread made in a dive-in oven — but when she can’t find that, she loves to eat Chef Iman’s za’atar bread, because it reminds her of her grandma’s.