Sisterhood Across Borders: WANDA Expands Its Table to Europe

There’s a scene in The Color Purple that never fails to move audiences. Beneath a great willow tree, Celie—played by Whoopi Goldberg—finally reunites with her sisters after years of separation. They laugh, cry, and share food in silence, a communion of souls where no words are needed.

That image lives within Tambra Raye Stevenson, founder/CEO of WANDA—Women Advancing Nutrition, Dietetics, and Agriculture, every time WANDA hosts a Sisterhood Supper—whether in Nairobi or Cape Coast, Paris, Dallas or D.C. It’s more than a meal; it’s a manifestation of memory and belonging. It’s the table where women taste freedom together.

This October, that same spirit will cross the Atlantic as WANDA launches the Sisterhood of the Diaspora Tour: EU Edition, connecting African and Diasporan women through food, fellowship, and collective power.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tsRPcAKlrU

Crossing Continents, Building Bridges

On Friday, October 24, 2025, Tambra Raye Stevenson will be in Brussels at the 9th African Diaspora Agrofood Forum, hosted by The Food Bridge vzw under the visionary leadership of Maureen Duru-Onweni. This year’s theme, “African Diaspora Women’s Entrepreneurship: Pathways to Development, Empowerment, and Growth in the Afrofood Sector,” captures the essence of what WANDA has been building for nearly a decade—women using food as medicine, culture, and economic empowerment.

“We are honored to welcome Tambra Raye Stevenson of WANDA as a keynote speaker at the 9th African Diaspora Agrofood Forum. Her leadership at the intersection of food, health, and women’s empowerment embodies the theme of this year’s edition—African Diaspora Women’s Entrepreneurship. Tambra’s voice is essential in showing how women across the diaspora can leverage innovation, storytelling, and advocacy to transform Agrofood systems and create lasting impact for our communities.” — Maureen Duru-Onweni, Founder, The Food Bridge vzw

Stevenson will also join a distinguished panel discussion, “Women Supporting Women,” alongside Olouwafemi Kidjo, Founder of Women in Afrofood (WINA); Margaret Debrah, Co-Founder of EATO; and Moradeke O. Adelekan, Minister Counselor (Head of Chancery, OACPS Desk) at the Nigerian Embassy in Belgium. The panel, moderated by Fatoumata Diallo, CEO of Gamaal, will explore how women are strengthening networks, mentorship, and partnerships across borders.

Later that evening, WANDA will co-host the WINA Belgium Chapter Launch and Sisterhood Supper with Olouwafemi Kidjo, founder of Women in Afrofood (WINA).

“At WINA, we believe that true transformation in the food system begins when women across the Diaspora come together in sisterhood. Partnering with WANDA to co-host the Sisterhood Supper in Brussels is about more than a meal—it’s about building bridges, strengthening our collective voice, and creating opportunities for women to lead and thrive. By deepening our relationships with Diasporan women’s groups, we are planting the seeds for a more just, connected, and resilient food future.” — Olouwafemi Kidjo, Founder, WINA

The evening will open with a Masterclass on building sustainable, profitable food brands, followed by the Sisterhood Supper—a shared table where stories of heritage, entrepreneurship, and resilience will be exchanged like treasured recipes.

Sisters in Food, Fellowship, and Free Markets

From Brussels, Stevenson will travel to London for the UK–Africa Women in Food & Agribusiness Investment Summit on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, at the Chesterfield-Mayfair Hotel. There, she will take part in a Fireside Chat with Anna Jones of BBC and Just Farmers, exploring how storytelling shapes women’s visibility, leadership, and investment in the global food economy.

“Tambra Raye Stevenson is a vital voice for this year’s UK–Africa Women in Food and Agribusiness Investment Summit. Her work sits at the intersection of food, media, and policy—challenging stereotypes and reshaping how the world sees women in food and agribusiness. At a time when narratives define investment, influence, and impact, Tambra brings the lived experience, global perspective, and storytelling power needed to spotlight women as leaders, innovators, and changemakers across the food system.”— Nana Adjoa A. Sifa, Initiator/Lead, Guzakuza

The next day, October 30, WANDA will close the tour with a Sisterhood Supper at JuliesNest Gardens, following a river tour of London. Together with Women in Food and Ag Innovation (WiNA) and Guzakuza, the evening will celebrate women building bridges between Africa and the UK through entrepreneurship, sustainability, and cultural connection.

Food as Bridge, Food as Freedom

For Stevenson, most of her travels have been a return home—to the Motherland—to reconnect with her Fulani roots and learn from women farmers, cooks, and healers who nourish both land and lineage. Extending WANDA’s work to Europe continues that journey—expanding the circle of sisterhood that began centuries ago when African foodways first crossed oceans.

As Jessica B. Harris reminds us in High on the Hog, “The food of the African diaspora tells the story of movement—forced and free, tragic and triumphant.” Each Sisterhood Supper retells that story, one plate at a time.

The table becomes a meeting ground—a place of reconciliation and resistance. As Zoë Adjonyoh, Ghanaian-British chef and editor of Serving Up: Essays on Food, Identity and Culture, writes, “When we cook, we are not just feeding; we are remembering.”

Food Feminism and Diasporan Power

The Sisterhood Suppers are not simply dinner events; they are acts of Black feminist praxis. Each gathering embodies what bell hooks called “the political act of love”—where nourishment becomes a form of resistance and restoration.

Long before “farm-to-table” or “food sovereignty” became popular terms, Black and African women understood sustenance as a tool for survival, solidarity, and self-determination. As Ghanaian feminist Akosua Adomako Ampofo notes, “African feminism is community feminism—it is collective care.”

That is the ethos behind WANDA’s work: a feminism of the fork, grounded in shared heritage, healing, and hope.

From Scarcity to Sovereignty

WANDA’s journey from Oklahoma to Abuja, Nairobi to Brussels has always been about moving from scarcity to sovereignty. Food is more than fuel—it is diplomacy, data, and destiny.

When women gather across continents to share stories and strategies, they are not just building businesses—they are building freedom. As Nigerian scholar Oyeronke Oyewumi reminds us, “Our identities are relational; our power, collective.”

That’s why these gatherings matter. When African and Diasporan women unite across tables and trade routes, they do more than feed communities—they reshape economies and narratives.

A Call to the Table

Stevenson often returns to that image beneath the willow tree in The Color Purple: Celie and her sisters, after years of struggle, finally finding one another again through the simple act of sharing food.

That image is the heart of WANDA’s mission. The Sisterhood Supper is not just a meal—it is an altar. It’s where mothers’ recipes meet daughters’ dreams, where truth is spoken and liberation is tasted.

As WANDA expands its table across Europe, each gathering will nourish not only bodies but bonds—reminding us that food is the universal language of sisterhood, sovereignty, and peace.

So, to sisters across the diaspora: bring your stories, your spices, and your light. Because when we break bread together, we are not just eating—We are building the future.

Join WANDA This October

Brussels – 9th African Diaspora Agrofood Forum 📅 Friday, October 24, 2025🎙️ Panel: “Women Supporting Women”  Fatoumata Diallo (moderator), Margaret Debrah of EATO, Olouwafemi Kidjo of WINA, Tambra Raye Stevenson of WANDA, and Moradeke Adelekan of Nigerian Embassy in Belgium 📍 Café Béguin – WINA Belgium Chapter Launch & Sisterhood Supper: Brussels

🤝 Co-Hosted by WANDA & WINA

Register here

London – UK–Africa Women in Food & Agribusiness Investment Summit 📅 Wednesday, October 29, 2025 🔥 Fireside Chat with Anna Jones (BBC and Just Farmers) & Tambra Raye Stevenson of WANDA

📍 JuliesNest Gardens (Red Room) – Sisterhood Supper: London 📅 Thursday, October 30, 2025 🤝 Co-Hosted by WANDA, Guzakuza, and WiNA

Register here