For Fresh Veggies Day: Honoring Ancestral Foodways via Plant-Based Traditions (= PART ONE of TWO)

….Rooted Many Moons Ago

June is Fresh Fruit & Veg Month — and June 16th brings us Fresh Veggies Day, a great moment to reflect on just how deeply rooted fresh vegetable consumption is in Black American and Diasporic food traditions….

Before it was trendy, it was tradition!

Black Americans — especially prior to and during the Great Migration (1910 to 1970)— primarily followed what we now call “plant-based,” “seasonal,” or “farm-to-table” diets. Meals were built around fresh vegetables, fruits, legumes, and grains — which were also canned, pickled and preserved for consumption during long winter months. Not because it was fashionable, but because it was what was available, affordable, a way to not be wasteful — and passed down for generations

As the late comedian and food activist Dick Gregory once said, “We didn’t call it a vegetarian or plant-based diet — that’s just the FOOD we ate growing up.” Similarly, chef and culinary icon Leah Chase reminded us, “We grew and prepared what we ate. If it didn’t grow, we didn’t eat it.”

Those weren’t soundbites — they were truths. Long before mainstream America knew the value and benefits of farm-to-table seasonality, many Black communities nationwide already knew and embraced the power of plants, sustainability, and seasonal eating. I’d like to think that today’s growing awareness around food justice, wellness, and reconnecting with the land is, in many ways, a return to that wisdom.

🌿 Let’s Celebrate Fresh Veggies Day today and as many days as we can this season by honoring those roots — and the people who cultivated them. Whether you’re harvesting from your own garden or buying local greens, you’re participating in a legacy worth preserving.

Also check out EAT YOUR VEGGIES DAY which is tomorrow (June 17th) & serves as PART 2 of today’s post

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