Judi Leib and Shonda Isom Walkowitz see food as a tool for sparking difficult but necessary conversations. (photo courtesy of Challah and Soul)

On Aug. 10, Judi Leib and Shonda Isom Walkowitz, co-founders of the nonprofit Challah and Soul, will be honored for their work in strengthening relationships between the Black and Jewish communities during an event at Our Big Kitchen Los Angeles, 8567 W. Pico Blvd.

Through their nonprofit, Leib (who is white) and Walkowitz (who is Black and Jewish), use the power of food and storytelling to illustrate the similarities between the Black and Jewish communities. Black and Jewish struggles for liberation have long been intertwined, but they have also been driven apart by people who fear the power of the two minority groups working together, Leib and Walkowitz said.

“The first thing we want to do is we want to go back and rebuild a community of trust between the Black community and the Jewish community,” Leib said. “Most people these days don’t know that Martin Luther King Jr. walked across the Selma Bridge with Rabbi [Abraham] Joshua Heschel. Shonda actually taught me that the first 17 minutes of the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech talks about the brotherhood and allyship with other marginalized communities, but it’s the last few minutes that get all the play,” Leib said.

Leib is a culinary school graduate who has 40 years of experience in the restaurant industry. Walkowitz, a former Jewish educator, splits her time between Los Angeles and a farm she founded and operates in the Lucerne Valley. After meeting in October 2021 through Hadassah of Southern California, a branch of an international women’s Zionist organization, they realized food could be a tool for furthering their mission.

“If you look at history, which is something that we strive to [do] through storytelling and food and education, our histories align,” Walkowitz said.

She pointed to the similarities between foods like dumplings and matzah balls, hushpuppies and falafel as a potent example of this common history, she added.

Walkowitz and Leib began hosting events in December 2022, using food to encourage difficult conversations about race, antisemitism and discrimination.

The women host events across Los Angeles, as they aim to create a broad audience and welcoming spaces across the city. It’s a feeling Leib experiences whenever she visits the Fairfax District.

“My dad’s office was on West 3rd Street and Poinsettia [Place], and my grandfather lived in Park La Brea when I was growing up,” she said. “I was there last night, and there’s such a feeling of warmth when you go into a community and you know you’re welcome.”

Leib and Walkowitz also try to build community online, posting recipes and links to history articles on their social media, and hope to eventually branch out into advocacy and education, drawing on Walkowitz’s experience as a pre-school teacher.

Walkowtiz added she is working to build relationships with churches and Black community members and organizations.

The women are hoping to schedule an event for Sukkot in October, and are planning a combined Hanukkah and Kwanza party during the holiday season, Walkowitz said.

During the challah bake at Our Big Kitchen, a nondenominational organization that cooks kosher meals for vulnerable residents, attendees can enjoy challahs that incorporate African and Jewish recipes while raising funds for Challah and Soul and the Lunar Collective, which uses community programming and digital storytelling to raise visibility for Asian American Jews.

Although Walkowitz and Leib have so far focused on the relationship between the Black and Jewish communities, they want to increase the diversity of people included in their mission, including by hosting regular Shabbat gatherings.

“Whether it be in our home or someone else’s home or even a temple, [we want to] host a Shabbat dinner and welcome in all different races,” Leib said.

“We are ready to talk and share this historical solidarity,” Walkowitz added.