Wellness Week 2023: Food For Thought Workshop

We invite you to join us for an inspiring food workshop, where we honor and explore the deep-rooted connection between food, land, and the Black community. This event is a celebration of the invaluable contributions of Black farmers, chefs, and food traditions that have shaped and nourished communities for generations

During this interactive workshop, participants will witness a captivating cooking demonstration led by a talented Black chef who will showcase flavorsome recipes deeply rooted in African diaspora cuisine. Through this culinary journey, we will highlight the significance of sustainable farming practices, the preservation of ancestral food knowledge, and the power of food as a vehicle for community resilience and cultural expression.

• This event is FREE

• Limited spaces are available.

• All gender expressions are welcome.

• Ages 13+ may attend (minors must be accompanied by a Guardian).

• Waiver + Liability form must be completed prior to participation of event.

Featured Facilitator:

Morrison Reed (they/she/he) is inspired by the earth and the ancestors. Morrison is a grief-based yoga teacher and chef amongst the first graduating class of the POIC’s Culinary and Hospitality Emergent Fellowship. Over the next year, Morrison aims to do research for their forthcoming culinary project @glaberrimadinners, continue their community grief offerings with @ancestralflowers, and return to PSU this fall to continue their undergraduate work with Fine Arts and Black Studies.

Inspired by Africans who braided rice and seeds into their hair for survival during their journey to enslavement through the middle passage, aims to highlight how seeds that feed will preserve Black history and culture at the table and beyond.

By curating intimate luxury and educational farm -to-table experiences, Chef Morrison is dedicated to championing Black liberation, food sovereignty, and nourishing community connections through art and food.

This event is being held in partnership with the following organizations:

:

"Feed’em Freedom Foundation (FFF) ignites and centers Black Agriculturists to participate as owners and movement leaders within agriculture, land stewardship, regional food security response, and economic prosperity.

We are Black-led small farm incubator that supports emerging Black farmers to grow and celebrate culturally-specific ancestral foods. Black families have faced unprecedented food insecurity due to the pandemic. Currently, 1 in 5 Black families in Oregon experience hunger, with 18% of Black families experiencing high food insecurity – a statistic that is three times higher than White, non-Hispanic families. Our programs build economic strength that flows from our community of food producers directly into the homes of families most in need.

FFF grew out of the work of Mudbone Farm, a Black-owned small farm enterprise that grows and celebrates Black food sovereignty. Mudbone Grown has deep connections with BIPOC producers, and we see the Black Community Food Center as the space where we aggregate small producers’ crops and form growing contracts in collaboration with BIPOC processors to build sustainable community wealth."

"Feed the Mass was created in 2016. I started teaching children how to cook and bake simple yet healthy food at their parents’ request. Quickly the word got out and I was teaching my first Little Chef Class.​

One day I heard the story of Jesus and the miracle of feeding the masses with 5 fish and 2 loaves of bread. The story wasn’t that he multiplied the food, but that if people shared the little they had it would always be enough. To feed the mass you need to teach people to feed each other.

This is where the name Feed the Mass comes from. My goal is to teach people that we take care of each other through food and cooking. Food connects every person in the world. I want to use it to create a community that is inclusive, diverse, and accessible to everyone."

Jacobsen Valentine, Founder & Executive Director

ABOUT WELLNESS WEEK 2023:

In celebration of the Juneteenth Holiday, is honored to offer a week of holistic health activities for the local Black community. The week will include workshops and activities that promote physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health & well-being.

This year's theme is the "Black Matriarchy" - and we'll explore the ways in which Black women have contributed and continue to shape the Black community and the greater world at large.

Connect with us through our or on .

Host or Publisher Black Men's Wellness PDX