Food and culture are forever intertwined. No matter where you grew up, what language you speak, or who you live with, the way you eat does not match identically to your neighbors. This diversity of eating patterns is what makes food and cooking so interesting. This week for National Nutrition Month® is themed around that deep connection between food and culture.
Massachusetts is home to people from a variety of cultures—the top spoken languages in our state besides English include Spanish, Portugues, Haitian Creole, Chinese, and Vietnamese. One of SNAP-Ed’s favorite ways to celebrate these rich cultural differences is through food. On the Recipes page, you will see an option to sort recipes according to different cultural inspirations. Please note that these recipes are exactly that—inspired by but not exclusive to specific cultures. If a recipe does not seem right based on the way your family makes it, feel free to modify it. We would also love to hear about that. You can share your modifications with us through social media. Also, be sure to rate the recipes on a scale of one to five to let us know how it works out.
To learn more about some of the beautiful cultures throughout Massachusetts, check out some previous blog posts, such as the following:
- Celebrating Black History Month
- Celebrating National Native American Heritage Month
- Celebrating Caribbean American Heritage Month
- Celebrating Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month
- Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
Each of these blog posts have delicious recipes that correspond to the featured culture. Use these ideas to expand your weekly meal plans and try new recipes and new flavors from cultures all around the world.
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