humanity
Humanity topics include pieces on the real lives of chefs, professionals, amateurs, inspiring youth, influencers, and general feel good human stories in the Feast food sphere.
Why I Bake
My legs tremble from the weight of the day's activities. My hands shake with exhaustion and overuse. My back slumps forward more than the old ghoul-ish curve will usually allow. My shoes have long been forsaken, but perhaps should have remained on, if only for a futile sense of support. And yet I stand.
Preston DildinePublished 6 years ago in FeastHow Food Saved My Life
I was a depressed, suicidal teenager. My mother died when I was two, and my father remarried when I was three. He married a woman who’s intentions were not pure. She put on a good face in front of my dad, but behind closed doors she was physically, mentally, and emotionally abusive. For years my dad had no clue. She tried sending me away to boarding school. Told me that she tried giving me up for adoption but none of my family wanted me. I later asked my family and they all said it was a lie. I wasn’t allowed to express my thoughts or feelings. I had to conform into the person she wanted me to be, and I did not like that person. My step mom was cold hearted, and didn’t care about anything that wasn’t her, or her biological children. I grew up thinking I was a no body. My life had no importance, because this is what I was told on the daily. If the person who was raising me didn’t even believe in me, who would? I was obviously nothing. I would never find happiness, or love. I was told over and over that I would never be somebody. I would never be loved. Even if I had the chance to be a mom, which the dad would probably leave me, my kids would hate me just for the simple fact of it’s me. I would never be pretty enough. Or smart enough. Or skinny enough. I, as a being, would never be enough. Hearing this from a young age is bad enough. But hearing it from the woman who chose to raise you is just unbearable. You believe it. Without even realizing it, you start to look at yourself in the mirror, and tell yourself you will never be good enough. You don’t deserve to live. You should just disappear. Do everyone a favor and just die. And then you get to the point where you attempt to kill yourself by swallowing all the pills you can find in your house. It doesn’t work, and you wake up puking, asking God for forgiveness and saying you won’t try it again if he gets you through the pain. But you do. You do try it again. Four more times that month. At this point you’re just begging for someone to notice you’re in pain. You’re waiting for someone to realize you are not ok. But instead, the only reaction you get is, “Wow, you’ve been getting sick a lot this month.” You want so bad just to blurt out everything, but you know once you do, you will either be laughed at, or sent away, and neither one of those is what you need. What you need is love. But for some reason love just doesn’t exist in that house. You cry yourself to sleep, you beg God not to let you wake up in the morning. You’re so exhausted from being told you’re of no importance in this world. I was so terrible at being alive I couldn’t even kill myself. So what did I do? I turned to, well you guessed it. Food. I needed to get out of my own head, my own thoughts. When you cook, you have a lot of things you have to bring into thought, so there isn’t much room for anything else except what you’re cooking. For example, something simple like spaghetti you still have to think about it. It takes 10 minutes for the water to boil. While that’s going on, I’ll brown the meat and season the sauce. By then the water will be ready. Throw the noodles in, and put the sauce on real low. They both will be ready at the same time. For me, cooking became my lifeline. It was seriously life or death. If I wasn’t cooking, I was thinking about how I wanted to die. Eventually I got the help I needed. Cooking at home turned into my first job. My first job turned into my career path. I now am 25, own a home, a vehicle, have two kids, a dog, and am looking to buy a boat. Not only did cooking help me through the rough times, it also helped me with the good times. I have amazing people in my life now. I get told every day by the love of my life, also the father of both of my beautiful children (who love me as much as I love them), that I am beautiful and perfect the way I am. I no longer feel like I am worthless. I am now a strong woman who believes in herself. I am also grateful for the bad childhood I had. Without it, I wouldn’t be the woman I am today. I am strong. I am beautiful. I am worth the breath I take. I am worth it. If it wasn’t for me cooking in my kitchen to get out of my own head at the age of 18, I would have missed all of this. Cooking saved my life. I mean that. If it wasn’t for cooking, I probably would have ended up finding a way to kill myself. Cooking is the reason I’m alive today.
Brittany GiamancoPublished 6 years ago in FeastThe Making of a Semi-Successful, Kinda Okay Chef/Baker
Tiny chefs around the world at this exact moment are discovering their natural talent for cooking while others are making sure they just stay best friends with their microwave or delivery man. Every child has tried their hand at cooking with their mothers and fathers or even grandparents, a skill once learned can be a beautiful thing.
Maya SeiboldPublished 6 years ago in FeastFarmers Market
It’s getting close to the end of the season for farmers markets but that doesn’t mean you should stop going. Going to farmers markets can be a fun activity you do every Saturday morning but it could be your way of life from now on. You’re probably wondering what I mean by that, well there are some markets that go on all year round, that’s right y’all farmers markets can go on all year. Now going there and getting fresh veggies, homemade breads, and other baked goods, flowers or even art could be a pass time but for the vender it is their way of life. It can be how they make all their money or just a way to get some extra cash, whatever it is, it’s a way to support the locals in the community. I’m all for supporting small businesses, they give you something that a corporate business doesn’t, passion. I myself have a small farm stand where I sell produce from on Saturday’s and a way of getting some extra cash. What I love most about it is telling my customers how much agriculture and serving the community means to me. We as humans find that if a business is passionate about what they do and who they do it for you dollar goes a lot further with that vegetable stand guy than the big box stores. That should make you feel better about the business you do with your local community, most people out at the farmers market are just trying to get by like the rest of us and if you’re loyal they will cut you a deal, especially if they are passionate. With that next time you are in town in a Saturday morning check to see if there is a farmers market and remember, local always taste better and makes the community happy too.
Miranda YearingtonPublished 6 years ago in FeastSigns You're Dating a Foodie
The beginning of a new relationship is an exhilarating time as you and your date slowly learn more about each other, deciding whether you're truly compatible. It's during this time when certain suspicious details may come to light. Maybe they use words like "umami," or maybe they have a bunch of weird gadgets in their kitchen. Whatever provokes your suspicion, it's imperative for you to maintain vigilant for any other signs you're dating a foodie.
Joseph D. N. KendrickPublished 6 years ago in FeastRestaurants That Recycle Food
With the way American food portions go, many restaurants used to just throw it away but there is a new movement now about restaurants giving away their food for free. A new app called Meal Connect leads to intercepting food that goes in the trash. Feeding America reaches the 42 million people in the United States that struggle to afford food for themselves. Low-income people like me count on food banks. I started using a food bank because I wanted to save money. It is something we low-income folks simply have to do. Feeding America has 200 food banks, and the application helps manage the steady flow of food from a restaurant to a person who can’t afford it.
Iria Vasquez-PaezPublished 6 years ago in FeastFood Waste in the United States
What happens to all that restaurant food we do not eat? We waste it by throwing it away. What happens to food that expires in the grocery store? We also waste it. 15,000 tons of food is thrown away in households daily (The Guardian). A third of the daily calories Americans eat is wasted. The types of food thrown out the most are fruits and vegetables, followed by dairy and meat. We unnecessarily waste food. 30 million acres of land, 780 million pounds of pesticide, 4.2 tons of irrigated water. The thing is, according to this cited The Guardian article, rotting food clogs up landfills, releasing methane into the air, which is a greenhouse gas.
Iria Vasquez-PaezPublished 6 years ago in FeastChef Life
Cooking. It can be fun. It can be hell. Like any job it’s really what you make of it. It’s not like what you see on Food Network. It’s not glamorous. People generally look down on you. Most know that it isn’t a good paying job. Hell, I’ve been doing it for 13 years and my wage has only went up five dollars since I first started on this sweaty, greasy, rage-filled, thankless road.
Fisher KingPublished 6 years ago in FeastUtilitarian Standpoint: Diet Discrimination
Note: I think faster than I can write or type. Therefore, grammatical errors are unavoidable. Feel free to politely point them out.
Heeta JoshiPublished 6 years ago in Feast5 Ways You Can Help Combat Hunger & Food Insecurity
Hunger and food insecurity are global problems that are found in every single country and across community demographics. How do we define hunger vs. food insecurity?
- Top Story - June 2018
SKEP – Fruit Routes Summer 2018
Fruit Routes, June 2018 at Loughborough University in the U.K., was three days of events created and curated by artists and food activists Anne-Marie Culhane & Paul Conneally around food systems, food production, eating together, growing, and climate change. Fruit Routes always has a feast built into it, sometimes more than one; this year it was a Wild Tea Party called 'In Your Hands' where foraged nettle and sage tea was drunk followed by tasseography, a reading of the tea leaves.
Paul ConneallyPublished 6 years ago in Feast Girl's Best Friend
Many people say that dog is man's best friend, which holds a certain truth to it. Others say diamonds are a girl's best friend. There is truth to that statement, but very little. Let's be honest, if we ladies had to make an honest decision between diamonds and food, food would definitely be the winner—hands down! Because who doesn't like food?!
Rebekah LottPublished 6 years ago in Feast