Taste of Africa event celebrates diversity, local, organic foods

Taste of Africa event celebrates diversity, local, organic foods
By TaLeiza Calloway • tcalloway@stcloudtimes.com • March 17, 2010

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Twitter FarkIt Type Size A A A A hint of rosemary, basil and garlic just might be the first step to healthier eating, some learned at the Taste of Africa event Tuesday at First United Methodist Church.




Organized by the Multicultural Center of Central Minnesota and the Central Minnesota Sustainability Project, the event served as an introduction to locally grown, sustainable and organic food and its benefits.
The fundraising event benefits the Multicultural Center, the Sustainability Project and the African Women's Alliance, organizer Rick Miller said. Miller is the Development Consultant for the Central Minnesota Sustainability Project.
"We're promoting local, sustainable and organic food," Miller said. "It's about community. Food serves the community."
Diversity of food is also important and helps in the cause for not only healthy growing but living, he said.
Lanice Palmer-Cole, VISTA project coordinator for the African Women's Alliance, said the event is a good way to interact with different people in the community, especially those new to the St. Cloud area.
"The essence of the event is inclusiveness," Palmer-Cole said. "It's all about building bridges."
The cozy atmosphere of the lower level of the church made it hard to ignore anyone as more than 150 packed the event, enjoying fellowship and learning about sustainability. The setting was intentional, she said.
As those in attendance feasted on organic foods from Ghana and Somalia, they heard drumming from Buddy King and the Beats on the Block drumming group and presentations from sustainability advocates.
Isaac Owens, food service manager of Hennepin County Medical Center (Organic Rooftop Garden) was one of speakers and one of several who prepared the meal for Tuesday.
"Do you take the time to think about what you put in your stomach?" the Ghana native asked after citing that many take the time to think about what car they will drive or what job they will take.
"Sustainability is something I believe we can all do," Owens said.
While other dinners have been held previously, Tuesday was the first joint dinner, said Susan Roberts, board chair for the Multicultural Center. She said the mission of the center is building bridges of multicultural understanding among all people throughout Central Minnesota.
"It's to expose the community to these cultures," Roberts said of the event. "People grow to mistrust things they don't know. If we can eliminate their fear, then we're building a bridge of understanding."