Summary

King County Councilmember Joe McDermott on Tuesday awarded Thanh-Nga “Tanya” Nguyen with the Martin Luther King Medal of Distinguished Service, an award that recognizes individuals whose work has answered the question asked by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “What are you doing for others?”

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PHOTO ATTACHED: Chef Thanh-Nga "Tanya" Nguyen, King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, and members of the Egg Rolls mutual aid organization.

King County Councilmember Joe McDermott on Tuesday awarded Thanh-Nga “Tanya” Nguyen with the Martin Luther King Medal of Distinguished Service, an award that recognizes individuals whose work has answered the question asked by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “What are you doing for others?” 

Nguyen started her all-vegan deli, ChuMinh Tofu, in Little Saigon in 2011, with a plan to make healthy, delicious food for her community. Along the way, she decided to go so much further and now, with the help of a group of volunteers, she serves free meals to anyone who wants one every Sunday. During the two-hour event each week, ChuMihn Tofu serves over 150 meals, with ingredients sustainably sourced from local farms and gardens.

With the onset of the pandemic and many other urgent needs arising in the community, Nguyen and her volunteers began to distribute other things too, such as clothing, masks, sanitizer, and blankets.

“Tanya Nguyen is an integral part why the light of love and resilience in the Little Saigon community shines so bright,” said McDermott. “Tanya has built her delicious restaurant into a community hub, and along with the Egg Rolls mutual aid group serves over 200 free meals to anyone who wants one every Sunday, every week of the year. Bringing community together by placing our shared humanity at the center is the example Tanya provides to our entire region, it’s an honor to award her the 2022 Martin Luther King Jr. Medal of Distinguished Service.”

This marks the seventh year that councilmembers have each selected someone from their district whose work embodies the spirit of King’s question.