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MasterChef Winner Advocates for Job Access in the Culinary World

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Barriers to employment can be hard to overcome for the more than 368,000 Iowans who have a disability, but organizations like Disability Rights Iowa and Des Moines Area Community College are working to change that.

During this hour of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with Christine Hà, Winner of MasterChef season three, about her experience as a blind chef.

Hà lost her vision as an adult, and explains how adding certain accommodations to kitchens makes working in the food industry an option for everyone.

“People with all sorts of abilities can work in the kitchen; it’s just a matter of social acceptance.” Hà says. 

Hà is joining Disability Rights Iowa this week for their event, "Narrowing the Gap: Connecting Food Industry Employers and Iowans with Disabilities." Jane Hudson, the Executive Director of Disability Rights Iowa and chef John Andres, director of the Iowa Culinary Institute, join the program to highlight current efforts in Iowa to promote inclusiveness in the food industry. 

Later in the hour, a conversation with professor, author, and former Iowa Poet Laureate, Mary Swander, about her new book, "Adeste Fideles in Chinese."

Katelyn Harrop is a producer for IPR's River to River and Talk of Iowa
Charity Nebbe is the host of IPR's Talk of Iowa