Think of agents for change in American eating habits, and Berkeley’s Alice Waters and Michael Pollan come immediately to mind.
Indeed, eat-more-greens advocates can appear as white as Wonder Bread.
On the menu at La Pena Cultural Center last night: some much-needed color in the conversation about good food matters.
Visceral Feast, a work-in-progress performance piece, featured Oakland-based eco chef Bryant Terry (author of Vegan Soul Kitchen, a health-conscious reinterpretation of popular African American and Southern cuisine sans meat, and co-author of Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen), poet Aimee Suzara, dancer Eyla Moore, and choreographer Amara Tabor-Smith. (Full disclosure: I’ve taken Amara’s Rhythm & Motion dance class for almost two decades. The girl knows how to inspire joy and shake her booty like nobody’s business.) Ajayi Lumumba Jackson provided musical grooves.
Haitian Sandrine Malary made a heartfelt plea to help her people rebuild her country, literally from the ground up, as part of a seed gathering effort she’s organizing.
The audience was asked to contribute food memories, which were incorporated into the evening’s entertainment. The man seated next to me wrote simply but eloquently: “I miss my mom’s chai.”
But clearly these socially conscious artists and activists wanted to serve up some fun and good feelings, along with feeding the crowd on a steady diet of the visceral connection between cultural roots, eating, and hunger — and the importance of equal access to healthy, sustainable, local, and affordable food for all.
I can’t quite put my finger on the missing ingredient, or perhaps it just needs a little more time to marinate — what I do know is such a refreshing recipe is a welcome addition to the dinner table.
Visceral Feast runs as a three-part series. On March 14 the program features a multi-generational food theme; the April 25 event is billed as an international food tasting.
Photos: Amara Tabor-Smith (top) and Aimee Suzara (bottom) by Alan Kimara Dixon. Photo: Bryant Terry (center) By Sara Remington.
Sarah Henry is the voice behind Lettuce Eat Kale. You can follow her on Twitter and become a fan of Lettuce Eat Kale on Facebook.