This nightmare of a pandemic is not how it was supposed to happen.

For years. YEARS! I’ve had the dream of seeing a swing towards home cooking. A movement where we’d see people learn about food, try new recipes, build their cooking skills, try new ingredients, cook from their pantries, grow their own food, build community through sharing recipes, bake bread.

I wanted to see a grassroots, ground up movement. One where food literacy was built into our children’s school curricula. One where people in the community gathered to garden and cook and most importantly, sit down and share food together.

It took a pandemic for this to happen.

I am excited to see how people are cooking and learning about food. I’m inspired by the potential that this interest in food and cooking holds. But I’m also saddened to know that this movement happened because we’re all in a crisis.

We will keep each other safe by keeping ourselves apart. We’ll cook and nourish our bodies and souls. We’ll get through this.