Food is used around the world as a way to connect generations, feed the soul and connect personal stories. Food is what keeps our soul breathing, and our bodies living. Eating well and experiencing different cultures through eating can connect people from different walks of life. One simple recipe can carry one’s identity and history. Having a wide food pallet is one of the most important things you can have while living. Life is too short to keep eating the same things over and over, not expanding your palate. Eating food allows me to reach into cultures, showing me how each recipe can carry a story of the land and the people.
Food, in general, offers a way to explore diversity, and I genuinely believe that sitting down at a restaurant and sharing a meal that is different from what you’re normally used to eating, shows an act of appreciation and respect to the hands that prepared it. Each dish shows the soul of people, sharing their own lives through food form. We live in a world where we are often divided by certain borders. I feel that trying new food allows us to go past these boundaries and reach into a certain culture. Showing how differences can be shared and celebrated rather than judged or feared.
On the first Thanksgiving, Native Americans chose to help find food to give to colonists, helping them prepare for their feast, rather than resorting to conflict. I believe that this shows how people tend to be more peaceful when around food. Whenever I try a new restaurant, my dad insists that I try a new dish I’ve never had before. I appreciate this, as it’s not all about expanding my palate, it’s about recognizing the effort chefs put into creating memorable meals. Personally, when a dish is presented nicely and tastes unique in its way, it illustrates how food can connect with us on a deeper level, touching our souls.
Even in a simple form, food is a gesture of connection. Often I find that cooking a simple meal for my family or baking cookies for someone around the holidays can demonstrate the love I have for the people around me. Food has the power to nourish and heal, allowing us to bring people together in times of joy with a feast or with sorrow that can be softened by meals delivered to us. While it might seem simple, the act of sharing food with someone special can touch and repair bonds between people.
Around the world, food connects people to the planet itself. Growing and harvesting food to eat creates a relationship with the earth and a gesture of appreciation for its abundance. Whenever I support a local farm or tend to my backyard garden, it reminds me of my responsibility to care for the resources that the Earth gave us.
In a world that feels rushed, food is a safe space for many, including me, reminding us all that it is what binds all of us together. Because at the end of the day, everybody needs to eat food in one form or another. It is a celebration of life’s abundance and richness. Sharing food is sharing a piece of ourselves to remind us that no matter our differences, we all hunger for the same thing, connection.
