By a set of lucky circumstances, I have gotten to know a person named Marcy Newman who lives in Bangalore--the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka, in south India. Marcy lives with her husband in what she referred to as an eco-community, and I wanted to know more, so despite the time zone difference (when it’s 8:30 am in Chicago, it’s 8:00 pm in Bangalore), we arranged a time to talk.
In collaboration with One Earth Collective, the Austin Eats’ Verses & Vittles Lyrical Slam aimed to promote healthy eating and advance food justice in Chicago’s West Side neighborhoods. This year’s event featured a screening of They’re Trying to Kill Us, a documentary about the intentional inaccessibility to healthy food options in predominantly black and brown neighborhoods. The poetry slam was a chance for attendees to share their responses to themes in the film, as well as personal observations of food injustice and associated health crises in Chicago.
My path crossed with that of Chef Max Musto in early October, during the wonderful Austin Eats event at the Bethel New Life Mildred Wiley Wellness Center in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, and I wanted to know more about him. And, in a way, I also crossed paths with Chef Qia C at the same event (or at least my palate did; I tasted her food!), so I reached out to both of them to learn more about these two Chicagoland nourishing nourishers, and here they are. First, Max. Then, Qia.
