Lumpia as outreach: Korean candidate Chuck Park engages Filipino American voters in Queens
Community members gathered at Amazing Grace Restaurant in Woodside, Queens for an evening of food, storytelling, and civic engagement hosted by congressional candidate Chuck Park (NY-6).
The April 25 event marked a stop in Park’s “Dumplings & Dialogue” fundraiser series, which highlights the cultural diversity of Queens through shared meals and conversations. For this gathering, the Flushing-born Park highlighted his connection with the Filipino American community.
Guests participated in a hands-on Lumpia-making experience—rolling, eating, and taking home the beloved Filipino dish—while engaging in dialogue about immigration, identity, and the future of their communities in the heart of Little Manila.
Park was joined by acclaimed Filipino American pastry chef Abi Balingit, pastry chef, author of “Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed,” and James Beard award-winner. The evening also featured Jill Damatac, filmmaker and the author of “Dirty Kitchen,” a food memoir about growing up undocumented.
Park, a Queens native and former diplomat under the Obama administration, discussed the shared immigrant roots of Queens communities, noting that when his parents arrived in the United States from Korea in the 1980s, their first jobs were as street vendors in Woodside. Places like Woodside show how deeply our stories intersect, he said.
“Just a few blocks from here is the Phil-Am Mart which opened in 1976 as a lifeline for Filipino families seeking a taste of home. Korean families built their own spaces like H Mart which opened a few blocks from here. Our communities arrived in the U.S. around the same time and, in many ways, grew up together,” Park added that’s why, he said further, “It’s so important we fight for a sustainable future where every generation and community has the opportunity to pursue their own American Dream.”
Abi Balingit emphasized the power of food as a cultural and political force: “I’m thankful to Chuck for bringing the Filipino community together in Woodside to celebrate our culture. Food is political, especially now. And it means so much to gather to raise awareness about issues so integral to the Asian American diaspora.”
Jill Damatac shared a personal reflection on her time in Queens as an undocumented immigrant: “I lived in Queens, just inside Chuck’s district of NY-6, from 2007 to 2008. I was undocumented and needed somewhere safe to start over. I found refuge here—sleeping on my cousin’s couch, working toward my dreams. Today, that ‘Queens dream,’ as Chuck calls it, feels under threat.”
Damatac added: “Chuck cares deeply about this community—the same one that gave his family a chance to build a life. We deserve representation from someone who will fight for us consistently, not conditionally. It was an honor to be in the community in Little Manila, making lumpia: isang bagsak. Together we fall, together we rise.”
Tickets for the community fundraiser for Chuck Park’s campaign—which does not accept corporate lobbyist funding—were priced at $30 and included a full Lumpia-making & communal dining experience.
The Dumplings & Dialogue series continues across Queens, celebrating the borough’s rich immigrant heritage while fostering conversations about equity and representation.
