From tight-knit cultural enclaves to new challenges like gentrification, food connects immigrant communities and preserves a sense of belonging. In this episode of Melting Spots, chefs, baristas and bakers from Liguria Bakery, Mitchell’s Ice Cream, Grand Coffee, Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement, and Cinderella Bakery & Cafe share stories about the city’s historic Italian, Irish, Latino, Black, and Russian neighborhoods. They talk about how cooking helps build community in a place that didn’t always look like home.

Melting Spots is a food map & storytelling project from the California Migration Museum. Explore more at calmigration.org/meltingspots