This past year was not easy for business owners. Restaurant owners navigated constant changes in policy and safety updates, farmers rallied for the safety of their employees, markets pivoted to online sales and precautionary measures, and employees everywhere combatted furloughs, mask requirements, and the loss of income from in-person shopping and dining. Black business owners […]
The Anishinaabe are people of a particular place, as the Indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes. Our identities, histories, spirituality, and traditions are inseparable from our respective ancestral territories. The very fabric of who we are is defined by the landscape of interconnected relationships and our responsibilities to all our kin—all of those human and […]
Groundswell Community Farm in Zeeland is planting a new seed in the West Michigan farming community. BruceMichael Wilson is a Black and Native farmer who took over Groundswell Farm from its previous owners in July 2019 and started a mid-season CSA. Even though his first full season occurred with the onslaught of the pandemic in […]
“Co-ops are for the people, inspired by the people, built and driven by the people,” says Dr. Akua Woolbright, Board President of the Detroit People’s Food Co-op, a lifelong community health educator and a Program Director at the Whole Cities Foundation. Across the country, cooperative grocery stores increase food access and agency in communities. These […]
March 10th is National Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) Day! RDNs are nutrition experts with extensive science backgrounds and training that support individuals and communities in becoming their healthiest selves. They work in a variety of settings, such as community health departments, hospitals, long term care facilities, schools, private clinics, retail stores and farms. The nutrition […]
Chef Cam Stott is using traditional Native foods to remind people that food is medicine and that Native people are still here, through his new project Thirteen Moons Kitchen. He ran Jiibaakwaan Foods catering and personal chef services for two years, until last year, when he realized the community needs to be involved. Later this […]
It’s Women’s History Month! This month is all about amplifying the stories of women, and we’re highlighting a few who have made a significant impact on local food and our food system. While women have ancestrally and historically been a huge part of the food system, we’d like to take a moment to celebrate 3 […]
I love using film as a method to learn more about food. Each February, I share some films that have impacted my perspective around food. See my picks for this year, in no particular order. Gather – 2020 – Rent on Vimeo This powerful film tells important stories of Native American’s reclaiming their spiritual, political […]
I recently finished a journey through culinary school, graduating with my fresh Culinary Sales and Marketing degree from the Great Lakes Culinary Institute. While I did learn a lot of technical skills and terms in my classes (batonnet, béchamel and blind baking, oh my!), my biggest takeaways have been the lessons that applied to life […]
The Thanksgiving holiday has morphed with time into a great American legend that purports the coming together of the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians after the tribe helped the Pilgrims harvest a bountiful supply of fresh vegetables. The story is really a fabricated history that became more popular through Norman Rockwell’s paintbrush strokes. Even though the […]