This story is even closer to my heart than others I have shared as it involves my sweet parents and the story of a community farming project. This story is about them, the project they have helped initiate but also indirectly tells so much about me and the path I am on with my work and my passions. These two are responsible for fostering for my love of plants, gardening, food, cooking and of course eating and sharing food with others. Family dinners were foundational in our house. I especially looked forward to Sunday dinners. They were the types of meals you would smell cooking a good part of the day and often involved some of our family’s favourite recipes and there was always dessert. My grandpa would join us every Sunday and sometimes our elderly Austrian neighbour, Joe or other family friends.
We always had a garden growing up and both sides of the family were well rooted in farming communities. I feel so grateful to have grown up in such a loving and caring environment and exposed to good food and taught to cook from a very early age. I was raised to have a deep appreciation for nature and eating with the seasons and from as close to home as possible. I am keenly aware, however, that so many do not have such a supportive and nourishing start to their lives and do not receive the love and support they need to thrive. It is my intention with the telling of these stories around food and healing to not only look at how we can use food to heal our physical bodies but how the act of growing food and caring for plants can be deeply healing on an mental and emotional level.
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