🌰 Creative Existence (and other cool things)
Happy Friday!
Here are some things that I found inspiring, interesting, and just plain cool this week…
🍇 The Forgotten Filipinos Who Led a Farmworker Revolution
Abandoned grape vineyards? It’s all part of the fight for justice.
In the 1960s, migrant Filipino farmworkers led an international boycott of table grapes. Led by Larry Itliong, this movement *sparked* the United Farm Workers strike under Cesar Chavez! It took five years of striking before growers would sign a contract with the United Farm Workers.
An amazing unsung history about the strength of a farmworker community. I was particularly surprised by the fact that even though descendants grew up with the stories, they were considered part of ‘family history’ and not woven into any of the local school’s curriculum.
🌰 Bringing Indigenous Foodways into the School System
In the food world, you hear a lot about how disconnected people are from the production of their food — geographically separate from the growing, economically separate from preparation, forgotten ways of preparing food across generations — but one thing people don’t talk about nearly enough is how disconnected we are from foods that grow naturally in our area. 🌳
Sean Sherman is on a quest to incorporate more Indigenous foods into the American food system. His focus on decolonized food is now spreading to the school system, hospitals, penitentiaries, and community centers. Not only will this provide culturally relevant food to Indigenous communities, but it promises to be a source of education for non-Indigenous folks and will support Indigenous businesses and communities.
“There is a huge need for culturally appropriate foods, especially in schools and programs serving Native people.”
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🍞 “Let her cook”: Slang & Food as Creative Existence
After writing about the connection between bread and revolutions the other week, I was delighted to find this essay along the same theme. As y’all know, I don’t usually feature personal essays in the 5 Cool Things, but I thought that this article asked some interesting questions. Is cooking resistance? Is feeding each other enough? How does hunger lead to social disruption? And what do you do when hunger is embedded deeply within society?
🍽️ A Mile Long Table
Denver’s attempt to invite 5,280 humans to a mile long table of community right in the heart of the city. The next event is July 26 at 10 am at Auraria Campus and everyone’s invited!!!
Not in Denver? This organization does a lot of bringing people together to connect with food. Reading more about previous events was really heartwarming and inspiring. People are encouraged to bring food that represents their story, with the idea that sharing and trying someone else’s meaningful food can create amazing moments of community and belonging.
“When we set tables, we invite people from all walks of life.”
🌳 My front yard food forest
A few weeks ago, I filmed a video for my sister and out-of-state friend to see what I was working on in the garden. And since then I’ve had a lot of people ask about the food forest, so I decided to share the videos with you all as well!
I had a lot of fun creating the videos but even MORE FUN creating the food forest! If you want to do something like this in your garden, drop a comment below 👇🏽
*I was sooooo tired filming this, I think I lost most of my words! 🤣🤣🤣
Stay curious and stay inspired!
Rachel
UPCOMING EVENTS
Jun. 18 📖 Eating While Black: Fireside Chat & Book Signing with History Colorado
…keep an eye on this space for more events coming soon!
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