The Summer Kitchen

I meant to write this post several days ago, but other thoughts seemed to have made their way out of me instead. It's morning, we're still in our pj's and the boys are at the table beside me making Lego spaceships. I'm drinking espresso and trying to focus. I used to make the excuse that with kids I didn't have the time to write, and the truth is.. I don't. The only quiet time I have to myself is after they are in bed and by then all of my thoughts have either escaped me or fallen asleep. So I just write here and there whenever I can find the time, even if it means having a 4 year old sitting on my lap or having to stop several times to "Mom, look at what I made!" or "Can I have a snack?" Yes, it's difficult to stay in the writing "flow", but these days I take whatever time I can get.. even if that just means 15 minutes while they are eating cereal or play legos. Although I tend to have more difficulty writing in the evening, I can easily spend hours after they have fallen asleep devouring a good book in the bathtub. The most recent one being, "The Summer Kitchen" by Lisa Wingate.

The other day I was updating my profile on here and decided to delete my interest in cooking and starting a food "ministry". After a couple years of suffering with food allergies and having incredible difficulty finding meals that i can make, my passion has slowly dwindled down to the point where cooking almost feels like a chore. Each day I struggle to find enough food that I can eat and find myself making the same things over and over again to the point of boredom. With my enthusiasm at such a low I wondered to myself how I could possibly help encourage others to eat healthy. I have read many books in the past about people who either can't afford nutritious foods, don't have access to them, or both. They are left with the options of eating fast food or inexpensive junk food from gas station convenient stores. As a result their health often declines as they struggle with obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. In many poorer areas this issue has been dealt with by providing soup kitchens and food pantries. And although I applaud the effort involved, to me I feel it may also create a cycle of dependence. I would think that people would begin to rely on these places for survival. So, how do we provide food and help for those in need while allowing them to become a part of the solution?

I found some answers several months ago when I came across the book, "Bridging the Food Gap" and discovered the idea of bringing traveling farmers markets at a small cost to people who don't normally have money or access to fresh organic produce. Some of these farmers even went a step further by offering to let people visit their farm to see how their food is produced, along with cooking classes to teach them how to prepare these fresh foods in their own homes. This idea really struck a chord within me. It makes perfect sense to me, the idea of helping people by arming them with knowledge. Another idea that goes along with this concept is the idea of urban community gardens. It gives people a sense of pride to feel that they have accomplished something on their own and they are able to reap the benefits as a result. It also gives neighbors a chance to come together and help one another. I'm sure that many people who are poor and struggle to provide food for themselves and their families feel a sense of insecurity and almost embarrassment towards having to depend on others for help. What else can we do to help to bridge the food gap?

"The Summer Kitchen" is a fiction story about a women who after befriending a young teenage orphan and giving away a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches suddenly finds herself drawn into a community in need and discovers who she is in return. I found out that the idea for the story came from a place called, "The Gospel Cafe" in Waco, Texas. 3 women bought an old Victorian home that was formerly a crackhouse and transformed it into a restaurant to feed anyone, regardless of whether they can pay or not. What I love most about it is that unlike a soup kitchen, it doesn't just serve hungry and homeless people. ALL are welcome and so it provides a place where people can come together from all walks of life and share a meal. They also have gone out of their way to make the environment feel as comfortable as possible, with tablecloths on the tables and meals served on real plates. I think that those small little details would help to make someone feel included, important, and equal to others. There is no division there as people come together to partake in a meal. To me, this is as authentic as communion gets.

Although "The Olive Tree Community" has become a blog for me, many many years ago it was an entirely different concept that has evolved over time. About 10 years ago I felt a pressing on me to eventually start a cafe of sorts called "The Waiting Room". The idea being very similar to the idea behind "The Gospel Cafe". The name came from the "Sixpence None the Richer" song, along with the concept of sitting in a doctors waiting room with strangers whom you wouldn't normally find yourself in such close proximity to. It's funny how unless there are not any other seats available, we always leave at least one chair between ourselves and the other waiting patients. Are we worried we might catch what they have? Aren't we all there for the same reason? Instead of making friendly eye contact and striking up conversation, we stare at the magazines in our laps, the clock on the wall, yearning for our turn to come so we can get out of this awkward room we've been forced into sharing with strangers and into a smaller one where we can wait alone. Why are we so shut off from one another? And how do we break down those protective barriers that continue to divide us?

I know I have brought up some heavy topics, but these thoughts and ideas have been re-stirring in my soul so strongly recently that I can no longer ignore them. I'm curious to hear about your feelings on the subjects I have mentioned and am wondering.. When do you feel most connected to others? Please feel free to share in response!

Blessings and peace, Erin