Los Angeles' Dinners For DACA Pairs Food With Politics

Mallory Carra|June 4, 2018 1:16 am EST

In September 2017, President Donald Trump ordered the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — and it inspired siblings Nicole àBeckett and David Legacki to take action.

Through their socially conscious platform SameSide, àBeckett and Legacki started the Dinners For DACA event series in Los Angeles. The dinners, as well as brunches, take place in Los Angeles area restaurants, where participants learn how they can get involved and voice their support for the DACA program.

SameSide hosted the first dinner in October 2017 and since then, the organization has hosted several others in the series, gathering like-minded individuals in restaurants such as The Standard's 24/7 restaurant, Kettle Black, and Nerano. Legacki said that the dinners have been so successful that SameSide is looking to host events in North Carolina and San Francisco next.

"Dinners bond people even without action," àBeckett said. "You're sharing a meal, especially if it's a new restaurant they haven't been to before. They're trying something new and it adds to that whole aspect that you're breaking bread. While you're bonding over amazing food, you're doing work."

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Photo courtesy of SameSide

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Photo courtesy of SameSide

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For the first timer, it can be intimidating to call or write to your congressperson, so the goal for Dinners For DACA is to educate and encourage guests on how they can make sure their voices are heard by contacting their U.S. representative, signing letters, and using social media to defend the DACA policy. àBeckett said that DREAMers have attended some of the dinners as well.

"People can see each other's passion for the issue," Legacki said. "You're in the trenches together, writing letters to your senators and making phone calls. It's more inspiring to be a part of that collective group face-to-face rather than online."

àBeckett and Legacki had originally decided to combine food, restaurants, and political action because they realized how the end of DACA could negatively impact LA's restaurant industry. According to the American Immigration Council, 64 percent of DACA-eligible immigrants lived in California in 2016 and 39.2 percent of immigrants in California worked accommodation and food services.

"We saw this as an opportunity for restaurants to take a stand for immigrants and galvanize people to do work for this issue," àBeckett said. "To support DREAMers, to support DACA, because it's all intertwined."

àBeckett and Legacki founded SameSide in 2017 following the 2016 Presidential election and the January 2017 Women's March. àBeckett attended the march in Washington, D.C., and it inspired her to do more.

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Photo courtesy of SameSide

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Photo courtesy of SameSide

"It was incredible to be part of this worldwide phenomenon," àBeckett said. "When I was coming back, I thought to myself, I marched, but that didn't really move the needle on the issues that are important to me."

Legacki had been working on AirBnB's experiences platform, which brings people together through different adventures, and he suggested hosting experiences to gather guests to become more politically involved as a group.

Currently, SameSide has hosted a bagel and champagne event for gun safety, kickboxing for Domestic Abuse Awareness Month, and a farm-to-table lunch for access to healthy food. Legacki said he has seen the events inspire bonds over politics — and even friendships have formed.

"You could be a strong supporter, but just be intimidated by the other more strongly ingrained activists. We stand on the shoulders of activists who have been living and breathing with this every single day. Now, we want to bring more people under the fold by giving them a fun on-ramp into action."