Monica speaks with Kristen Lopez, a writer and disability advocate in media and also our first community member guest. In this episode, Kristen shares her favorite kitchen devices and hacks to create more autonomy and reduce effort in the kitchen. 

“In a world where disabled people, you know, autonomy is so fleeting for us in many ways, food really does become this element of control, and not in a negative way, although it can be negative, but a way to take back that autonomy.” - Kristen Lopez 

Timestamps

• 01:53 When Kristen realized technology would be such a big help in the kitchen 
• 04:08 Kristen’s favorite kitchen gadgets and transformations 
• 07:27 Products and services that have come out of the pandemic that have been beneficial to people with disabilities 
• 09:16 The ideal disability items for those who are newly disabled 
• 12:02 Finding easier recipes for cooking and autonomy 
• 15:26 The impact of digital accessibility on cooking 
• 18:42 Kitchen gadgets that help with time management and safety 
• 21:14 Examples of ways that kitchen appliances are inaccessible 
• 24:54 The lack of disabled representation in media 
• 29:45 The cost effectiveness of using kitchen gadgets over food delivery 
• 31:02 The stereotypes people with disabilities face around spending 
• 34:23 The impact inflation has on the disabled community 
• 37:31 Where Kristen sees technology going in the future 
• 39:45 The importance of making tech easy to use 
• 42:51 Kristen’s ideal tech 

Takeaway Learnings

1. There are tech devices, resources, and apps out there to support you in the kitchen, but not all the tools are gonna be for you and some might require some trial and error. Don’t give up! Keep trying different tools and see what hacks will help support you the most.  

2. Sometimes simple accommodations are so much more effective and helpful than expensive innovations. Calling in the actual needs of the disability community allows for the right accommodations to be made when developing accessible tools.   

3. Cooking can bring joy and autonomy to people in the disabled community. Utilizing technology to help save your energy and reduce the overwhelm allows for more space to enjoy the process of making food. And, I’m gonna bet that cooking at home is going to save you some much-needed money. 

Actionable Tips 

1. If you want to make your kitchen more accessible in a cost-effective way and you just don’t know where to begin, try reorganizing your kitchen to make the things you use regularly as accessible to you as possible. Look into the way that professional kitchens and bakeries are organized. 

2. If you’re interested in any of the tech that we mentioned, go and check out our show notes – all the products will be linked in the resources section. These are products that Kristen and I love, however they do not sponsor our show in any way. 

About Kristen Lopez

Kristen Lopez is the TV Editor of IndieWire and a pop culture essayist whose work has been published at Variety, MTV, and Roger Ebert. She writes regularly on disability representation in media. In her free time she contributes to the classic film podcast, Ticklish Business. 

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