![]() ![]() One way this might show up is when we alter a cultural food to add more vegetables or whole grains, and the dish winds up drastically different from the traditional dish in a way that can be offensive – especially when we call it a “healthy version” of whatever it is. In CFE, we as staff and AmeriCorps Service Members work to acknowledge and be transparent about where white supremacy shows up in our cooking and nutrition classes. We are by no means experts in this, and surely do our fair share of messing up on this journey of anti-racism in our work. We believe that food work which ignores intersections of racism and culture can do more harm than good. What does this look like at Solid Ground? This is especially important because chefs and business owners of nondominant cultures often don’t have the access to do the same. It goes beyond enjoying another culture’s food into the dominant (white) culture monetizing food that is not traditionally theirs and profiting off another’s culture. “Asian-inspired” menus at restaurants, or white bloggers posting “ healthy soul food recipes.”. ![]() Having your childhood lunch ridiculed, then it instantly becomes trendy the moment a white chef decides it’s exotic and exciting.White chefs selling burritos, benefiting through financial and social capital, without any benefit to communities that contributed to the food culture in the first place.Restaurants with a white front of house (host, waiter, etc.) and a Brown back of house (cooks, dishwashers, etc.).Does it mean that you can’t eat panang curry unless you’re Thai? No, of course not.Ĭultural appropriation of food can look like: Unfortunately, not even something as nourishing and celebratory as food is free from racism and cultural appropriation.Ĭultural appropriation is when a dominant culture adopts the cultural customs of a nondominant culture without understanding or respecting the original culture and context. Some magical aspects of food include the way it brings people together to share in others’ cultures, experience a taste of familiarity and comfort, and simply try something new. In Solid Ground’s Community Food Education (CFE) program, we truly love food – and we know that our volunteers do too! ![]()
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