New food writing: Rethinking what we eat, where it comes from

Though published a few months apart, my two latest food writing pieces — one reported, the other a personal essay — both involve rethinking how we eat.

In my first piece for Edible Alaska, I looked at how “Indigenous chefs, caterers, and food entrepreneurs work to reclaim and highlight traditional foods.” As I’m learning from my time in Alaska, subsistence living is sort of the original “eat local” movement. That gets complicated when you add in urban life and federal regulations (among other things).

The personal essay, for Christianity Today, chronicles how I’ve come to eat on what might seem like too little, and the profound role gleaning has played in that.

I’m very grateful to all those who helped me write the Edible story: Tlingit chef Rob Kinneen (fun fact: my Solo Planet headshot photographer Brian Adams worked on his book Fresh Alaska Kitchen!), the caterers Buffy Meyer and Flora Deacon and the owners of the Bearz Den Delights food truck. I learned two new words for thank you and more about the history of fry bread. Before my library loan expires, I’m hoping to try Kinneen’s fun spin on it, which includes cranberries and chickpea flour!

If you’re in Alaska, you can pick up Edible Alaska copies in several locations, or read online at the link above. I believe the Christianity Today piece will only appear online.