Part of the problem with our national attitudes toward food is that we are brought up to believe that food just isn't that important. Children aren't even taught to be curious about what they eat. Many of us have been taught that eating quickly is a good thing, and that no fuss, no mess, and no preparation time are good things. But we're missing the point when we try to save time by not shopping and cooking for ourselves. One of the truly worthwhile pleasures in life, it seems to me, is not in getting away from work, but in doing good work that means something.
Food can be transformative in everyone's life.
One of the most powerful demonstrations of this truth is at the San Francisco County Jail. About twelve years ago, a woman named Cathrine Sneed started a program called the Garden Project to teach organic gardening to inmates. The effect of this experience on some of the gardeners has been so overwhelming that when they are freed they want to go back to jail in order to continue working in the garden. So Cathrine started another garden on the outside for her alumni to cultivate. Restaurants like mine buy its high-quality produce, which helps support this remarkable community project.