Christine Tran

Christine Tran is a first-generation high school graduate from South El Monte, CA. She is passionate about people, places, food, and stories that connect us all. Her diverse background in education, food justice, communities, and policy has taken her across the country and around the world. As a multimedia storyteller, Christine aspires to create narratives to deepen our understanding of each other, the food we eat, and the world we share. She leads the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, the largest Food Policy Council in the country. Christine is a graduate of UCLA, Columbia University, and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Washington.

Three pieces of ang to gue, a traditional savory pink peach-shaped rice dough, sit on a plate.

Article

The Migrant Kitchen

From Dumplings to Sriracha: The (In)Visibility of Teochew Food and Culture

From local to global conflicts, Teochew people have survived generations of displacement through global migration, distinctive cuisine, and intergenerational storytelling.

Syed and Qaiser with their children Qamar and Faozia in front of a home in Los Angeles. | Shades of L.A. Collection / LAPL

Article

Asian Americans

Multifaceted: The Cultural Diversity of Asian America

Asian Americans have been historically misrepresented as a monolithic group, but within this broad category lies a wealth of divergence in perspectives, history and culture.

Prepared breakfast and lunch meals waiting to be picked-up by buses for home deliveries in Swain County, North Carolina | Courtesy of Christine Tran

Article

The Challenges of Feeding Hungry School Kids in a Time of Crisis

From pandemics to natural disasters, a crisis only amplifies the challenges school food programs face regularly.

#GoodFoodLACounty Summer Lunch Program | Linus Shentu

Article

LA Foodways

Re-connecting With Our Food: The Power of Good Food Policymaking

Food Policy Councils help connect the dots between the fields and our forks. They are convening diverse people across the food chain to discuss good food practices and policies that result in healthier populations.

Making vegetarian bánh chưng with peanuts | Sri Panchalam

Article

The Migrant Kitchen

Keeping A Tasty Lunar New Year Tradition Alive with The Bánh Chưng Collective

With the annual convening of the Bánh Chưng Collective, Chef Diep Tran keeps a beloved Lunar New Year culinary tradition alive to multigenerational participants.

Article

Iconic Neighborhood Restaurants: West Adams and Jefferson Park

West Adams and Jefferson Park are experiencing a familiar tug-of-war between established and new residents. Local restaurants, however, have become a vital link between the community's diverse and distinctive past and its hopes for the future.

Article

Iconic Neighborhood Restaurants: University Park, Exposition Park, and Adams-Normandie

From the paleta cart to a burger counter, many food spots in University Park, Exposition Park, and Adams-Normandie offer unpretentious fare to families gathering for after-church meals, couples on their first dates, and college friends looking for grub.

Article

Iconic Neighborhood Restaurants: South El Monte and El Monte

The diversity of food found in South El Monte and El Monte is the product of over three decades of Asian and Latino working class folks co-creating a community together.

Article

Eating Locally for All: Getting Farmers Markets CalFresh EBT Ready

On May 13th, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted (13-0) for an ordinance requiring all farmers markets to accept CalFresh Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards.

Article

Departures

Beyond the Cut: Hidden Harvest Rescues Food, Feeds Families

Hidden Harvest has rescued over 16 million pounds of produce from Coachella Valley fields and packing houses, averaging over 1 million pounds a year since 2001. Recovering crop waste can be a key to solving hunger in the heart of California's abundant ...

El Movimiento

California's Wildfires

KCET Cinema Series

El Movimiento

California's Wildfires

KCET Cinema Series

Christine Tran