Community- The Power of Food

I’ve been rolling this around in my head for months….  Community.  I began writing a post that encompassed every aspect of community.  From the neighborhood we live in, to the city we call home, to the groups we belong to, to the friends we have, to the social media pages we scroll through endlessly, but I realized that was all too broad and that I was having a difficult time organizing that in a way that made sense.   So I decided to start with what I know best.  Food.  

You see, I’ve been feeling a bit tired lately.  Tired of politics, tired of division, tired of offense for the sake of being offended, tired of “pearl clutching”. tired of hate, tired of all the things that many of you have grown weary of as well.  So, there lying in front of the tv in a near vegetative state this past weekend, I heard the words that lit the fire.  “Food brings us together”.  

It’s not a new concept for me.  I’ve always known that power of food to bring people together, and friends, if there has ever been a time that we could use that reminder.

  Just about 2 1/2 years ago when I started Walnut Tree, I didn’t really have any idea what it might become.  I just knew that I loved to bake, and I wanted to share that with people. In its beginning, Walnut Tree was never meant to be an every week thing.  I had planned to do baking events centered around holidays and special occasions, take orders and see how it went. Two months in, my mom passed away unexpectedly.  I didn’t really feel it at the time, because so much of those following months felt numb to me, but food and baking were saving me.  Each week through that summer I loaded up the truck and set up at the Farmer’s Market.   Each week, I began to recognize the same faces, each week we got to know one another, each week, without realizing it I was building a little community.

Now, I’m so grateful for all those people who I now call friends.  Looking back, I had suffered a great loss, but what I realized was through those goodies I was baking each week, I had this amazing community of people who were lifting me out of that sadness without even knowing it.    It was an exchange that was priceless.    I miss those people when I take a week off, or when they are away and can’t make it to the shop or to the market.  We have let each other into our lives, I know about their kids and families, their birthdays, the things they love and the things they don’t.  They know my family. I never thought of myself as a people person, but I really care about these people. 

I know for sure, that this idea of food and community is a mission I will continue to explore.  I feel it in my soul, this idea of nurturing and creating community through food.   I don’t know what it looks like, I have lots of ideas and thoughts, but there are always obstacles to overcome.  I’ll be spending the next few weeks and months figuring out ways to continue to build community through my food and I hope you will be a part of it.   I hope that in these times we’re living that you take a minute to share a meal with someone, that you will support local farms, restaurants and food businesses.  These people are putting their heart and soul into these businesses. I hope you’ll find your own ways of creating community through food.    There is tremendous power in sitting down at a dinner table in healing our spirits.  Laugh.  Eat.  Love.  It’s really pretty simple.

xo

Greg

I’d love to hear any ideas or thoughts you have about creating community with food.  You can leave them in the comments or email me at greg@gregutsinger.com.

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