issue no. 782

GOOD FOOD JOBS HAS ALWAYS BEEN . . .

a culture-shifting project. Our original interest in food came from understanding the ways that we were intentionally disconnected from the making and growing of it. While in high school I took a keen interest in baking with apples picked at a local orchard with my grandmother, and I came to wonder why these were cast aside as special occasion skills or relegated to a hobby when food was something that we engaged with multiple times a day.

It’s still easy to get caught up in the trappings of capitalism - the ones that tell you that everything is and must be at your disposable at any given time. That you are meant to be able to buy - or strive to be able to buy - every good and service. And that in the end, none of it will ever be enough.

That is why every act of disrupting the system holds a special place in sustaining an alternate reality: the one where we care for each other, create and share, grieve and grow together.

We know the material realities continue to be ever more grim: raging, highly visible genocides carried on in plain sight for years on end, the Earth and its inhabitants threatened with human corporate-induced climate collapse, and the gutting of hard fought voting rights. We will not pretend these ills, and many others, do not exist.

On the contrary, when we name them, and actually feel the pain of them in community, we work to continually build webs of support in the tangible world.

As always, no one individual can single-handedly solve any issue. The work is each of us pulling at our own thread(s). The path need not be to devote yourself to being an expert in one area - your impact can be magnified with each instance, big and small, where you fundamentally flip the script on what we were told and sold as ‘the way things are’. All the better if you do this in any coordinated way that inspires others and amplifies the impact.

Last week, I attended a talk at our local Camp Hill Village given by Adam Wilson , who penned the soon-to-be-published book, This Food Is A Gift . The person who introduced Adam said,

“We can’t take for granted that we know how to live in a village - it is a muscle that we need to exercise. That is the work of this moment.”

That is the work of this moment.

What are the ways that you will hold this in your heart? And take this into your days? How will it impact the ways that you speak? That you act? That you share?

Adam closed out his talk sharing that “ the land is listening for the sounds of human gratitude,” an idea that keeps echoing throughout my being. How can we be in connection with this reality, individually and collectively?

No individual action will fundamentally alter the landscape, but we can exercise the muscle together. And the collective muscle memory, and the power with each other that we build can change our material realities in meaningful ways.

To building the village,

Tay + Dor

tidbits...

resources on anti-racism, environmentalism and food culture AKA stuff we’re reading / listening to / watching / noticing / thinking about / captivated by this Tuesday . . .

Do One Small Thing . . . ask for help from the spirit realm. Identify one person, no longer living, who had skills that could come in handy for a challenge that you are facing - it could be personal or collective. Call on them to aid in working through said challenge. We’d love to hear your story, if you feel inclined to share it.

“Prayer does not use up artificial energy, doesn’t burn up any fossil fuel, doesn’t pollute. Neither does song, neither does love, neither does the dance.” - Margaret Mead ( hat tip to Megan Leatherman for sharing this quote in a recent newsletter ).

Last week I attended a talk given by Adam Wilson , who wrote the book, This Food Is a Gift . Adam’s words are also a gift, breaking us of the binds that are the systems we’ve come to think of as normal or destined. May we experience and experiment with other ways of being that already hold a special place in our hearts.

A reminder that Atlanta hosts the world’s largest free food forest - a model for generosity and care.

Now is as potent a time as ever to put art into the world - and to support those that are doing it. The Wisdom of Birth Tarot Deck is one such piece of art - and on its way to meeting it’s Kickstarter Goal. If even 10% of the people that open this email contributed, they’d surpass their goal in mere minutes.

Listen to Megan Leatherman’s most recent podcast episode entitled Honor the Old Land Spirits to understand how we can be in better connection with our wise and well ancestors that grace the landscape.

Elspeth Hay reminds us how to share critical skills and resources, like she did with her book, Feed Us With the Trees .

Forest Defense works in concert with nature in our area to turn a challenge (overpopulation of deer grazing that is impacting the health and wellness of the forests) to a solution (culture building to use an abundant protein source to help ease food insecurity).

Join Taylor’s Seedling Social at Suarez Family Brewery on Saturday May 9th from 12 - 2 PM. It is with great pleasure that we grow seeds and share the bounty (in the great spirit of Fruition Seeds ). This commerce-free event works wonders to introduce kids to the power of plants and what happens when we learn and grow together.

Dor’s first book is coming out into the world, and available now for pre-order. Reserve your copy of Imagine a Woman , “a fierce and generous statement on motherhood, girlhood and personhood that cools and burns.” Sign up to receive more book news and monthly missives on creative obsessions.

View and share this free guide to How to Write a More Equitable Job Post , and stay tuned for new resources to deepen this work.

" Plenty has been written about the economic impact of the pandemic on the food industry, but not enough about its lingering effects on the bodies of people whose mission is to nourish us. " Read the latest GFJ Story on the creator behind Anjali's Cup, with words by Nicole J. Caruth and photos by Christine Han.

got a tidbit? drop it here for us and we’ll share it in next week’s newsletter.