Artist Statement: Kristina Wong #FoodBankInfluencer
One fateful afternoon in 2019, I wandered into World Harvest Grocery Outlet in Los Angeles not realizing that I had stepped into a non-traditional food bank whose generous distribution model would find its way into my mutual aid work, community activism, and a new show six years later. I certainly didn’t think that said show would be a solo karaoke rom-com musical about emergency food systems.
This show comes on the heels of my last work “Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord” and attempts to answer the questions I was still left with in the aftermath of leading the Auntie Sewing Squad, a 500+ day national mutual aid mask sewing effort powered by 800 volunteer Aunties: Isn’t there actually enough for everyone? Why is everything distributed wrong? What is actually killing us? Who is going to save us?
I was fortunate to receive an ASU Gammage artist residency which gave me three years to develop the piece. I’ve met with dozens of food banks, pantries, social service agencies and mutual aid efforts to research this work. I hung out with ASU’s student-led Pitchfork Pantry and had many conversations with ASU community members. I met with professors and sustainability scholars. I even got to be in conversation with Jose Andres of World Central Kitchen onstage at ASU Gammage. I’ve gotten the valuable time of the policy experts at Mazon who advance policy solutions to end hunger. I’ve also visited food security efforts on the Navajo Nation, New York State, London, Washington DC, Western Massachusetts and more. At one point during the SAG-AFTRA/ WGA double strike in LA, I initiated a months-long food giveaway at World Harvest for union members who were in need of food. I can’t possibly begin to thank every food giveaway entity I’ve encountered in this development process, every nuanced moment I’ve witnessed, every food insecurity factoid I’ve been told, but I so greatly appreciate everyone who took time to meet with me as I figured out what the story was of emergency food and how to make it this show.
I was introduced to Germaine Simonson, owner of the Rocky Ridge Gas Station and Market located in a rural part of the Navajo Nation by Arizona State Senator Theresa Hatathlie-Delmar whose mutual aid network Navajo Hopi Families Covid-19 Relief Fund worked with the Auntie Sewing Squad in the pandemic. One of the original paths this show was going to take was not a theatrical show, but instead, a handsewn fabric installation inside her gas station market that would have pointed visitors to more indigenous foodways. This would have been a collaborative project with local seamstresses to help visitors to the market imagine what food sovereignty is. The market had to close because of weather damage and we pivoted to a ribbon skirt sewing workshop in July of 2023. While I am sad we could not see the original fabric installation through, I hope some seeds of that time have shown up in this show. I also hope we find ways to collaborate together in the future.
I read many books on emergency food while researching this work. The most impactful texts were Janet Poppendieck’s Sweet Charity and Andrew Fisher’s Big Hunger. I had the great fortune of Janet surprising me with her attendance at a showing in progress at the Catskill Arts Center in Summer 2024. I’ve attempted to integrate her feedback about clarifying that World Harvest has a very atypical food bank model in the show.
Now we sit in a terrifying moment of history where social safety nets are being cut drastically and food banks can’t sustain the demand. It’s been tricky as an artist to critique bandaid solutions when everything is on fire. I find inspiration in mutual aid and efforts that connect people back to each other and the land. I believe that rebuilding a world that operates on true community trust is where we’ll ultimately find liberation.
While I can’t include the thousands of learning moments I’ve had in my process during tonight’s show, I’ve sifted through it all with my incredible director Jessica Hanna and lined up what I feel are some of the most enlightening moments for your enjoyment. Thanks for being here.
Thank Yous
Thank you to the staff of Portland Center Stage and Boom Arts for teaming up to present me again. Thanks Marisa Wolf and Kamilah Bush for showing interest in this show when I was last here in 2022 and this show was just a hunch. Thank you Tracy Francis for all your help in locating community partners and helping me think through these community engagements. Thanks Oregon Food Bank for being so extremely amazingly different than a lot of the food banks I’m talking about in my show. And a lot of love to all the mutual aid groups who have come through and who do the work in PDX. Andy Fisher– what a pleasure to meet you!
Sandy Morris for the incredible publicity photos which have gotten so much use! My best friend Brian Feldman, Marilyn Feldman- Wattman, my other best friend Glen Curado of World Harvest Food Bank which is how I find myself in this mess/ show to begin with, Dave Delmar and Senator Theresa Hatathlie-Delmar, Germaine Simonson and the Rocky Ridge Gas Station and Market, Badly Licked Bear for co-producing the ribbon skirt workshops with me on the Navajo Nation, Nadine Narindrankura, Grandma Edith and Little Bobbin for your support that week as we held those workshops, Outside In Theatre, Mazon who offered themselves as thought partners early on, Catskill Arts Space, The Kennedy Center’s Social Impact program (rest in peace), Rahman from Fiverr in Egypt who made these karaoke videos, our past production technicians in past development residencies– Latrel Thompson, Calvin Anderson, Arlo Sanders and Jenny Park, Center Theater Group for loaning some legal consultation, En Garde Arts (especially Anne Hamburger, Joan D. Firestone and Dr. David Milch), my beloved Lee Supercinski, and my hard working team of Lillian LaSalle at Sweet 180 and Olivier Sultan at CAA.
Funders & Supporters
This performance/ event is supported in part by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of Social Impact’s Social Practice Residency Program, a three year Artist residency at ASU Gammage supported by Michelle Jung and Chris Rodriguez, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Social Practice Fellowship from the Kennedy Center, the Joan D. Firestone Award from En Garde Arts and additional residency support from the Dr. David M. Milch Foundation.
This has also been developed with residency time at the following: New York Theater Workshop’s Residency at Adelphi U., Catskill Arts Center in partnership with A Single Bite (sponsored by the Dr. David M. Milch Foundation), UMass Amherst, and Center Theater Group. With development opportunities at World Harvest Food Bank in Los Angeles. Additional rehearsals were made possible by Outside In Theatre, Los Angeles.
This artist has also been supported with a 2023 Doris Duke Artist Award.
More about Kristina Wong, #FoodBankInfluencer:
Behind the Curtain: There Is Enough
PCS Dramaturg Kamilah Bush on the state of food insecurity in Oregon and the U.S.
Community Food Resources: Places to Get Help & Give Help
This guide highlights a selection of local food pantries, meal programs, and volunteer opportunities in the Portland area. While not comprehensive, these organizations offer ways to access food, support neighbors, and get involved in the community.
Snap!: The vibrant ‘Kristina Wong, #FoodBankInfluencer’ entertains and enlightens with karaoke-style songs
By Linda Ferguson for Oregon ArtsWatch
Wong’s solo musical comedy, playing at Portland Center Stage, also digs deep as it schools us on rising food insecurity in the richest nation in the world.
Stage & Studio: Interview with Kristina Wong
Stage & Stduio's Dmae Lo Roberts interviews Kristina Wong about her new show #FoodBankInfluencer, returning to Portland, and why "food banks?." Listen online or wherever you get your podcasts now.
Multnomah County Library My Discovery Pass Reading List
Enjoy a thoughtfully curated list of readings to complement your Kristina Wong, #foodbankinfluencer experience!
How do you become a food bank influencer? Comedian Kristina Wong has answers
Isabella Bernstein interviews Kristina Wong on #FoodBankInfluencer for the Boston Globe
Current & Upcoming
BIPOC Affinity Night: Karaoke Party for Milk Crate Kitchen & Equitable Giving Circle
Wanna help fight food insecurity? Sing a song with us! Sticking with Kristina Wong's amazing theme, for our BIPOC Affinity Night, we will be hosting a Karaoke Party at The Armory. Every song sung will be a meal donated to local nonprofit Milk Crate Kitchen & Equitable Giving Circle, so come sing for a good cause! Oh, and of course, there'll be come complimentary beer from Deschutes Brewery :)
PCS Teen Playwrights Spring Showcase 2026
Don't miss this evening of phenomenal plays written by teens from our PCS Teen Playwrights residencies, directed and performed by PCS professionals.
Improv Comedy: Love, Shakespeare
Witness the Magic of Unscripted Shakespeare! Step into the offbeat word of Love, Shakespeare, where seasoned Portland comedians attempt something audacious: performing a fully improvised Elizabethan play based on your suggestions!
Storm Large Makes it Home
Portland Center Stage presents Storm Large Makes It Home, a gripping new memoir-on-stage from acclaimed singer, actor, and songwriter Storm Large. Featuring new original music written and performed live by Storm, this intimate one-woman show explores family, identity, belonging, and the search for a place to call home.
Improvisation Classes for Beginners
Whether you're looking to get more confident in social situations, think quicker on your feet, or get in touch with your imaginative side, these "one-off" improv classes will set you on the path to success!
Liberace & Liza: A Tribute
Liberace & Liza Minnelli never performed together, but should have! David Saffert & Jillian Snow have created a wildly successful mashup of two over-the-top icons, which is now headed to London’s West End after a sell-out UK tour. Saffert’s dizzying piano skills and Snow’s powerhouse belt team up in songs such as Cabaret, New York, New York, Over the Rainbow and even in surprise covers of Lady Gaga and Britney Spears. There are as many laughs as sequins when Liberace & Liza take hilarious turns vying for the spotlight. No matter what, they both come out winning and audiences are left in awe after a night they won’t soon forget. We hope to see you at The Armory and if you’re feeling frisky, come on over and join us in London!
Portland Center Stage is committed to identifying & interrupting instances of racism & all forms of oppression, through the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, & accessibility (IDEA).
Season Superstars
Season Supporting Sponsors
