Today my husband and I brought some Moroccan food to my sons’ 1st grade classroom. They are studying countries of the world, and what better way to teach than through food? I made a chicken and potato tajine and m’semmen. These were two items that I thought would be very simple dishes without a lot of strange flavors. I was in for a surprise. As I walked around and showed the kids the dish, one child pointed to the potato and asked, “what’s that?” He had never seen a whole piece of potato. As we served the m’semmen I told the children it was topped with honey and butter. At least 5 of the children had never eaten honey. This was down right shocking.
I have always found food to serve many purposes. It is what brings us to the table as a family. It is also a way to help us understand each other. I truly feel that as a society, Americans have gotten away from this, seeing food as another task to check off our daily list. On one end of the spectrum families zoom through the drive through to grab “dinner” to eat while rushing around to soccer practice or ballet lessons. On the other end are families struggling to find, cutting corners, waiting in line at food pantries, and stretching what they have as far as possible. It’s time that we all begin to see food as a tool to bring together our families, communities and world.
I’ve decided in the new year to really make it a point to help people see how much their lives can change just through food. This might mean making healthier choices in what you eat. It might also mean sharing a dish with a neighbor who has a different style of eating than you (think food diplomacy!). Or it could mean volunteering at a soup kitchen. There are so many ways that food can change someone’s life. I’ll be posting throughout this year with ideas and tips to help you change your life (or someone else’s life) through food. Are you with me? Are you ready to use food to change a life?
I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Simply Orange® blogging program. If I am one of the first 65 blogs received by SocialsMoms, I will receive a $25 Target gift card and a gift pack that includes a Simply Orange® cooler bag and logoed fleece.
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I lived in the US for yrs in good and bad neighbourhoods. in the bad ones this as you mentioned above was common, but when i was able to upgrade as i call it LOL to better places, ppl did eat well. sad to think ppl in 3rd world countries eat live better then in one of the top countries in the world.
have you seen Jamie Oliver Italian adventures? he went to the poorest part of Italy, he found ppl were eating better then in UK. very similar story to yours!
anothere reason i say elhamdullah i live in Algeria