Building Community and Making Gardens

First Cultural Potluck with Growing Together Community Gardens

World Gardens- July 20th, 2022

Food from Liberia and Somalia, served by executive director Yoke-Sim Gunaratne, and community activities coordinator Precious Garpeh

An attendee walks back to their table with a plate full of goodies

Yesterday we had our first cultural potluck of the year in conjunction with the people of Growing Together Community Gardens.

Some of the very diverse individuals that attended

This year we are hosting 3 cultural potluck events with them. These will be focused on Growing Together volunteers, and they will also be open to anyone in the general public who is interested in attending. We will have tables with food from our attendees, and also a table featuring the Cultural Group that we will focus on for that specific event.

The dates are:

* Wednesday July 20th World Garden, Focus on African New Americans (Liberia and Somalia)

* Wednesday August 17th World Garden, Focus on Bhutanese and other Asian New Americans

* Wednesday Sept 21st Plains Art Museum, Focus on All New American GTCG volunteers.

The event last night is the first of these that we have planned for this year, where the gardens and different cultures are showcased, and where volunteers and people of the community are welcomed to experience the amazing food and culture of the people that live in this area, with presenters and dishes from their countries of origin, and tours of the gardens.

The Mohameds, telling us about their Somali culture

This one was focused on the cultures of Somalia and Liberia, with Kamaludiin Mohamed and his son talking in behalf of the Somali community, and Precious Garpeh talking in behalf of the Liberians. The event also had a wide variety of local food favorites, brought in by the attendees, and face painting for the children.

Precious, talking about the culture in her home country Liberia

The atmosphere was one of camaraderie and laughter, with the speakers showing all of us a little bit of their sense of humor and a perspective on how their different cultures have shaped how they approach the world. They also brought several emblematic dishes from their home countries, with a great array of baked goods as well as rice dishes from Liberia, and the very popular Sambusas from Somalia, among other things.

The presenters having a moment of laughter

There was also a raffle, and some of the attendees had the pleasure of bringing home a cookbook compiled by the people at Growing Together, with recipes from the people that have volunteered for them in past years.

Some of the food offered to the attendees

The food was delicious, and everyone enjoyed listening to the speakers. It was a beautiful Summer night, with food shared among friends from the FM area, and the world.

Our next Cultural Potluck will be offered on Wednesday August 17th, at the World Gardens as well.

For more information, write to jackstomatoes@gmail.com