The Soul of Food
A Celebration of Afro-Indigenous Foodways
The Soul of Food is a series of workshops that are grounded in the reawakening and deepening of understanding around foodways of Afro-Indigenous diasporas.
Offered in gardens throughout the five boroughs of NYC, our sessions delve into the cultivation, preparation, and stories of plants that have migrated from and within African and Indigenous regions.
Alongside discussion of the agricultural and culinary histories of the diaspora, we do land-based activities and prepare dishes to develop a deeper understanding of our relationship to these foods and celebrate the culinary legacy of Afro-Indigenous diasporas.
The Soul of Food’s evolution . . .
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2020-21
The inaugural Soul of Food was in partnership with NYC Parks’ Greenthumb and initially intended to kick-off 5 in-person sessions in May 2020. However, with the beginning of COVID-19, we pivoted to virtual sessions. During this time we created non-perishable cooking packages for participants to either pick-up locally or have delivered to them so that they could participate during the virtual sessions. This approach continued into 2021, when the Soul of Food was reduced two virtual sessions.
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2022
This year, for the first time we were able to offer 4 in-person sessions that occurred on a monthly basis, returning to our partnership with NYC Parks’ Greenthumb and community gardens across Brooklyn and Queens. The series’ culinary focus also began to expand beyond the Afro-diaspora of Southern US regions to the Caribbean, specifically Jamaica.
(Above photo by Greenthumb Staff Adder Chu)
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2023
SOF expands to 5 sessions at gardens across Brooklyn and includes its first sessions on planting, harvesting, and processing plants like leafy greens, fruits, and grains.
(Above photo by Greenthumb Staff Adder Chu)
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2024
SOF continues for its 5th year in partnership with Brooklyn and Bronx based gardens with more celebratory and skills-building sessions along with some sessions focused on growing and processing grains in the city!
(Above photo by NYRP Staff Corey Blant)
Soul of Food (RECAPS)
From honoring foods of Black Liberation efforts across the diaspora to celebrating holidays like Juneteenth and Jamaican Independence Day to planting out seeds that will be prepared across the sessions, The Soul of Food really aims to get into the soul and relationships of our being with plants and each other.
If you missed it, a recap of details and photos can be found on our blog. And be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to hear about future sessions.
