Welcome back to the LocalHarvest newsletter.
A few years ago, my husband taught at a school for teenagers who didn't fit in
any of the other schools in town. One day he asked his students how many of
them regularly ate a meal with their parents. Of the ten kids who'd made it to
class that day, only one raised his hand. The rest said they just fended for
themselves, grazing in the cupboards when they got hungry enough to take a
break from their video games. They shrugged when they said it, like it didn't
matter. Most of these kids' parents were working long hours at several jobs
just to get food in the house in the first place. Still, among the many hard
things these kids faced, between ourselves we counted the absence of family
meals high on the list.
Nowadays many families eat together only sporadically, due to parents' work
schedules — driven by necessity or the habit of overwork — or to children's
extracurricular activities. Yet this time is irreplaceable. It is, to my mind,
what makes a house a home, and part of what makes a group of people a family.
These are the people I come home to at the end of the day, and cook for and sit
with; this is the hour we bless with our presence to one another.
There is much attention being given these days to the need to improve the
quality of food served in our nation's public schools, and rightly so. To serve
our children the best food, grown with care by farmers who are also part of the
community in which the children reside is a sensible and widely beneficial
thing.
But let us also remember the value of the meals we share at home.
Last night I spent an hour making supper, as I do almost every evening, and at
some point between chopping the garlic and browning the onions, these thoughts
came loudly to my mind, "I love to cook. I love to make food for my family."
Yes, I thought, as I listened to my husband and daughter playing in the next
room, this is a sweet part of the day. And then we sat down together, lit some
candles, said our grace — "Thank You for this food, and that we are together" —
and ate.
Cooking and eating together need not be elaborate, but it is best, it seems to
me, when it is consistent. Like most such commitments — planting the seed
planted in early spring, bringing the baby home from the hospital — the fruit
may be months or years in the ripening.
At all times, but especially in this season of holiday bustle and stress, may
we all slow down long enough to invite one another to the table, and when we
get there, to look around and welcome with gratitude those who have gathered.
As always, take good care and eat well,
Erin Barnett
Director
LocalHarvest
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