TAKOMA PARK, Md. — Lorig Charkoudian, originally from Newton, Mass., won the Democratic Primary for the Maryland House of Delegates, to represent District 20, which includes Takoma Park and Silver Spring.
Charkoudian has dedicated more than two decades to public service in Maryland. This work has taken her into schools, farms, neighborhoods, courts, prisons, small businesses, hospitals, government agencies and the Maryland State House.
She has developed programs to reduce prison recidivism, written legislation for food security and public health, worked with the courts to increase access to justice for low income people, developed programs to build community wealth, provided violence prevention services, and marched in the streets for social justice.
Her vision statement, “Join us to build a More Just and Inclusive Maryland”, has inspired dozens of volunteers to work on the campaign and over 9,000 residents to vote for her.
Charkoudian has been the driving force in the growth of Crossroads Farmers Market and the development of the Takoma Park Silver Spring Commercial Kitchen where local entrepreneurs, many of them immigrants, share the kitchen’s facilities as they develop their food-based businesses.
She credits her appreciation for the power of food as an economic engine and community builder to her Armenian upbringing. “I grew up eating the churtmah, merjumek, dolma, taboule, and babaganoush that my grandmothers and mother made from vegetables grown in their gardens. This food fed our community and our souls, and was good for our bodies and the environment.”
