Part I

I rise in the morning to peer through my cold glass window; observing the monotonous meander of the Greenbrier River as it carries broken bits of ice and snow. I smile at the ashen mountainsides scattered with twisting and sleeping trees; the untamed whiskers of Old Man Winter. Simultaneously, a rumble begins deep in my gut; a most basic instinct begins to tear my attention from West Virginia’s Appalachian wonders toward the homey kitchen stove.

I have often been asked “Why food?”

When I contemplate the various elements that have built my life these 23 years - my rural Kentucky childhood, my college education in mathematics, my travels, my hobbies, my prized possessions - nothing comes close to my passion for good food. Not everyone is good at math, not everyone can have the opportunity to travel to another country, not everyone wants to hike or snowboard or grow a garden, but everyone has to eat.

Food is a fundamental human need and right, such as access to water, shelter, and, some would argue, even love.

Every time I experience this morning growl, I know that every belly across the globe is waking up with the same grumble. It’s really quite beautiful to know that no matter your location, passions, religious affiliations, financial status or lifestyle, we are all human and we all have to eat. While this basic human desire seems to connect us, there are also so many of us who are unable to guide their empty stomachs from a serene window to a refrigerator stocked with eggs, milk, fruits and vegetables.

So this is why I chose food: everyone has the right to access food, but not everyone has access to the right food and I would like to help change that.