May Celebrates Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month
This annual celebration recognizes the historical and cultural contributions of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. The month of May was chosen as the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States on May 7, 1843. May also marks the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, and the workers who laid the tracks were mostly Chinese immigrants. According to Pew research, as of 2019, there were over 22 million people of Asian or Pacific Islander descent in the United States, which accounts for about 7% of the total U.S. population.
The 2022 theme for the Month, according to the Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC), is “Advancing Leaders Through Collaboration.” The FAPAC specifically encourages local and national governments to prioritize collaboration, development, diversity, transparency, and inclusion through leadership training of AAPI people. ISE is commemorating this month by highlighting an Asian American company, Wonton Food Inc., as well as the company’s AVP of Marketing & Public Affairs, Alice Mok, who immigrated to the U.S. from Hong Kong in 1992.
For those of you not familiar with Wonton Food Inc., the family-owned and operated company is currently one of the largest producers of high-quality, authentic Asian products, which include wrappers, noodles, crispy noodles, and fortune cookies. But, it did not start out that way! In 1973, Ching Sun Wong, who immigrated from Guangdong, China, to the United States in the 1960s, started manufacturing noodles in the basement of a small store in New York City's Chinatown with ten employees and a single production line. The company relocated to the East Williamsburg section of Brooklyn in the 1980s, where its corporate headquarters still are today, and has since expanded to nearly seven hundred employees with plants in Long Island City and Plainview, NY, as well as Houston, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee.
Since the company’s inception, Mr. Wong has made it his mission to take care of his employees, their families, and the communities in which he does business. His philanthropic focus was largely on education and health, two areas in which he found the local community to be underserved. Those areas remain to be an important company focus today. Wonton Food is now under Ching Sun’s son Norman’s tutelage and continues to be even more committed to improving health care and health care education for the Asian American community in New York City by supporting N.Y. Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital and Chinatown Health Clinic. These organizations are able to serve the community's medical needs in part through this support. Additionally, Wonton Food Inc. strives to enrich the lives of the area’s residents through donations, career advancement, civic engagement, and providing support for local manufacturing and businesses, partnering with multiple local and national organizations which include Celestial Love Foundation, Chinatown Manpower Project Inc., Evergreen Exchange, F.Y. Eye, LIC Partnership, NJCACC, and American Food Merchant Alliance, etc. Lastly, Wonton Food emphasizes the importance of students furthering their education to achieve their dreams by establishing the Wonton Food Achievement Scholarship with Greater NY Chinese Dollars for Scholars and the Fortune Graduation Fund with the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association for students around New York City and the country to pursue further education.
In addition to Norman’s direction, a big part of Wonton Food Inc. continuing to be a major philanthropic ally to the NY Metro Area is due to Alice Mok spearheading the Marketing and Public Relations Department. She is committed to conducting its mission and genuinely believes in the importance of helping others and giving back to the community.
WISE had the pleasure of speaking with Alice to learn more about Wonton Food Inc.’s philanthropic side, its heritage, and her experience as an Asian American woman in the food industry.
WISE: Tell us a little about your business background.
ALICE: I have been employed in the finance industry, worked in the non-profit sector and the food industry. In finance, I worked in investment banking with a team of professionals who managed high-net-worth individuals' portfolios. For non-profit, training and relief work was my focus. I had the opportunity to travel to several different continents. The experience gave me an understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures, especially those is the Middle East & Asia. I am so thankful for the enriching experience and the impact it made on my life. Now, I’m in the food industry with Wonton Food Inc.
WISE: You have been employed at Wonton Food since 2014. Can you elaborate briefly on what your job capacity is at the company?
ALICE: My title is AVP of Marketing and Public Affairs. I head up two different divisions at the company. On the Marketing side, my area of focus is to develop, execute and monitor marketing programs across various channels. I analyze trends, define the organization's marketing strategy, and provide solutions to best reach the target market. As for Public Affairs, my job consists of building government relations, media relations, and corporate and public responsibility. It is my job to seek and explore government programs or incentives that can help the company grow.
WISE: How does it feel to be a woman in the Food Industry?
ALICE: As a woman, there are many opportunities in the industry because of diversity. Everyone brings their background/heritage, experience and culture to it, and the people that I have encountered have mutual respect. It is exciting, and I have had so much fun working in it!
WISE: How does it feel to be an Asian American in the N.Y. and the U.S.? Have your feelings changed over the past two years with the pandemic and the racism experienced by the community, specifically in NYC?
ALICE: Different people or different cultures do have different perspectives or conflicts. I think it is a necessary, but healthy tension. Every ethnic group has strengths and weaknesses. But instead of focusing on differences, we should focus more on our common ground and goal: working towards the American Dream to better their lives.
WISE: Has the current situation in the US and beyond made you more aware of the need for awareness and a special month geared to celebrating Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage?
ALICE: Yes, definitely! We are inspired by states like Illinois and New Jersey, as both states are looking into requiring Asian American history in schools. I think we have focused our attention on the American Dream, too often neglecting our history. We are working towards building a program for our employees to learn about the history of Asian American and Anti-Asian Racism & COVID-19: What can we do as members of the community or as allies to address this issue with care and recognition of complex racial dynamics.
WISE: What can you tell us about your culture that you would like us to know/learn more about?
ALICE: We have different festivals and all these festivals are a remembrance of culture, family/ancestors, and roots.
Most festivals have their own unique origins and customs, which reflect the traditional practices and morality of the whole Chinese nation and its people. They are a reflection on Chinese virtues such as honoring the elders, celebrating family/ family reunion, respecting ancestors, tomb-sweeping day, and mid-autumn/dragon boat, all related to cultures and virtues. The grandest and most popular festivals are the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival), the Lantern Festival, the Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-autumn Festival, and Dongzhi, just to name a few.
The unique thing about these festivals, besides reflecting on our roots or virtues, is that they are all surrounded by food. Each festival is highlighted by a particular food. For example, mooncake for Mid-autumn Festival, rice dumplings for Dragon Boat Festival, tangyuan or glutinous rice balls for Dongzhi (冬至) = 'Winter's Arrival', etc.
WISE: Do you have any go to resources that you use/everyone could use to further research the special month and Asian culture in general?
ALICE: Yes, here are a few of my favorite sites. I encourage you to visit the sites above to learn more about the uniqueness and importance of the culture as well as to celebrate the many contributions that the Asian American and Pacific Islander population in the United States has made and how they continue to positively help shape our nation.