South Philadelphia's Asian Food Collective hosting a festival to mark 2 years in the community

You know the feeling you get when you eat your family's favorite home-cooked meal? One community group in South Philadelphia is recreating that sense of comfort for people in need, one meal at a time.
Whether volunteers are making dumplings or stirring a big helping of Palestinian red lentil soup, it's clear the Asian Food Collective knows how to whip up a tasty meal.
On this day, they're cooking at the Old Pine Community Center on Lombard Street.
"I'm so grateful for our volunteers who have been so enthusiastic to step up," Hanna Kim says.
Kim is the founder of the Asian Food Collective. For two years, she and a small group of volunteers have stepped into the kitchen to help feed people in need. But not just with any food.
"All the family recipes, I think, are the best," Kim says.
Volunteers with the Asian Food Collective make it their mission to stock community fridges in South Philadelphia with meals they grew up eating. It's their comfort food, and they're hoping to share that feeling with their Asian neighbors by providing a familiar meal.
CBS News Philadelphia first profiled Kim in 2023, when the Asian Food Collective just started.
Roughly 2,500 meals later, she says the need is not slowing down.
"A lot of hunger nonprofits have been seeing cuts in funding," Kim says. "That's why this need for neighbors to take care of each other has been growing."
To mark two years, the Asian Food Collective is preparing to host its first food festival at the end of June. It's meant to highlight not only East and Southeast Asian food, but also South Asian, Central Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine.
"Selfishly, I love good food," Kim says with a smile. "So, why not have it all in one spot?"
But more important than the food, perhaps, Kim says, is getting the chance to meet the people who make it. They are, after all, the heart of the Asian community.
"I think it's very important to not only appreciate the food, but the hands behind the food," Kim says.
The From Our Hands Pan-Asian Food Festival is happening on June 29 in the parking lot of the Fleisher Art Memorial at 7th and Catharine streets, from 2 to 6 p.m. Visitors will find music, vendors, and a lot of good food.
The Asian Food Collective is partnering with Roots to Table for the event. That organization supports immigrant-owned restaurants in Philadelphia. Festival organizers encourage people to enjoy the food and support Asian-owned businesses and groups in their community.