š± OneKitchen Newsletter
January, 2026 | Issue 4
Hello OneKitchen Community,
We recognize that many in the culinary and local business communitiesāboth in Minnesota and nationwideāare being profoundly impacted by the recent surge in ICE activity. At OneKitchen, we believe in supporting our community during these challenging times and want to share immediate ways you can offer support.
1. Mobilize Your Voice: Chef Sean Sherman, a friend of Wholesome Wave based in Minneapolis, has seen the impact of these events firsthand. He has drafted a letter to Congress calling for common-sense solutions and a clear message of support for our community.
Action: We encourage you to review and sign the letter individually, by 5pm Central on Wednesday, January 28th.
Share: Please circulate this with your networks to amplify our collective voice.
2. Direct Support for Minnesota: Chef Sean has also highlighted specific ways to support local efforts and community resilience. You can find more information and ways to contribute at:
3. Mental Health & Community Wellness: In times of heightened stress, protecting our well-being is essential. We want to re-introduce CHOW (Culinary Hospitality Outreach and Wellness). CHOW provides confidential peer support and mental health tools designed specifically by and for hospitality professionals.
How you can help the OneKitchen community: If you know of local resources or relevant organizations, please share them with your fellow coalition members so we can continue to build a resource network for your community.
We understand these are exceptional times. Letās continue to look out for one another and support the well-being of the people, communities, and industry we love.
-The OneKitchen Team
š„ Wholesome Wave News
Casey has officially begun her position as Executive Director of Wholesome Wave and the OneKitchen team would like to wish her the best of luck leading the charge! Donāt fret - She will still be involved with OneKitchen at a high-level and weāre sure sheāll make an appearance at various events throughout the year. We are so thankful for her tenure as Interim Director of OneKitchen and canāt wait to see what she accomplishes as Executive Director of Wholesome Wave.
The Wholesome Wave Celebrity Chef Dinner (CCD) will be moving to a new Springtime schedule. Please keep an eye out for more information about the 2026 CCD in May. Going forward, you can expect this event to always happen in the Spring.
š£ Program News & Updates
OneKitchen WhatsApp Community
Starting February 1st, we will be launching the OneKitchen WhatsApp Community. We will be streamlining all chef communications to WhatsApp. You will be invited to the Community by your coordinator. Please expect most announcements from your coordinators and from the OneKitchen leadership team going forward to be sent via WhatsApp.
Why are we transitioning to WhatsApp?
Streamlined communication
Better accessibility and consistency with program communication
Easier interaction with your coalition
Direct access to your action partner
Ability to create polls, send invites and documents
Many of our chefs are already a part of WhatsApp groups for the James Beard Foundation and other organizations. Weāre hoping that this ensures that our transition to WhatsApp will be straightforward for most of you. For those who are not familiar or comfortable with WhatsApp please use this guide to help you navigate the App and our subsequent Community.
What to expect:
From now until February 1st, all of you will be invited to the WhatsApp Community and subsequent Coalition groups. If you do not get added by February 1st, please contact info@onekitchen-wholesomewave.org to let us know.
In your next coalition meeting your Coalition Coordinator will run through what to expect from WhatsApp and how we will be using it for OneKitchen. They will be able to answer any questions or flag any problems you may have. We do encourage all of you to take a look at our WhatsApp guide to familiarize yourself with the Community and better understand what youāll gain from it.
š ļø Tools & Resources
Member Portal
As a reminder, in late 2025 we launched the OneKitchen member portal. You can access it using this link. The portal features news & updates, tools and resources, coalition landing pages, contact information, and photos. If you have any trouble accessing the portal, email info@onekitchen-wholesomewave.org.
š¦ Coalition Spotlight: What to Expect This Year?
The OneKitchen leadership team, along with our coordinators and action partners, have been working hard on ensuring that we start this year with fully developed, comprehensive roadmaps for all coalitions. The purpose of the roadmaps is to ensure that we are exposing each coalition to various types of advocacy work. As a part of OneKitchen, we want to provide our members with opportunities to dig deeper into policy and advocacy work, far beyond simply adding your name to sign-on letters. Our goal for this year is to create roadmaps that really reflect these learning/advocacy goals, and expose each of you to new opportunities. Here is a brief overview of what to expect:
California
California is getting ready to hit the ground running this year with a newly developed roadmap that will focus on building up proficiency in understanding KIT funding. This will allow chef members to begin crafting powerful stories to take to the state legislature to advocate for permanent KIT funding.
Colorado
Following our big win in Colorado, our goal for the next few months will be to show the chef members what happens after a legislative win. Our Action Partner, Nourish CO will work with us to show the chefs the ins-and-outs of what the implementation of HSMA looks like now that funding has been secured. This will begin with a gratitude campaign to get chefs face-to-face with legislators who are champions of HSMA.
Texas
We are working with Sustainable Food Center (SFC) to expand on the gratitude campaign and get chefs involved with a series of engagements, including potential farmers market visits with legislators. We hope to follow up on the gratitude letters that were sent at the end of 2025 with in-state visits to legislators to thank them in person for their support of Double Up Texas.
Georgia
We are launching a new action partner in Georgia this year and are currently working with them to finalize a policy roadmap to bring to the chefs. Our Georgia coordinator Mallory deGolian, with the help of Head Chef Deborah VanTrece, have worked tirelessly to ensure that we are building a roadmap and program that will be engaging and purposeful for the Georgia Coalition members, and we are so thankful for their input and dedication.
š¬ Note from the Director
As I wrap up my first month as OneKitchenās Director, Iām feeling deeply grateful and genuinely excited about what weāre building together. Itās been grounding to listen, learn, and witness the care and commitment coming from our coordinators, chefs, action partners, steering committees, and the Wholesome Wave team.
Looking ahead, my goal is to help OneKitchen grow with intention by strengthening how we connect across coalitions, creating clearer and more supportive systems, and continuing to center chef leadership as the heart of this work. I believe the future of this program is collaborative, thoughtful, and shaped by the people closest to the work.
If you ever have questions, ideas, need support, or would just like to chat, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at nokkie@wholesomewave.org. Iām honored to be building whatās next alongside you and look forward to the year ahead.
Nokkie Lipsey
Director, OneKitchen