BY COCO WANG
A&E contributor
Mark Jones grew up learning about the value of food from his father, who worked in urban and homeless communities as a master gardener in Los Angeles.
“I was fortunate to have a father with a green thumb,” said Jones, who is now the owner of Big Day Catering in Los Angeles.
Jones was one of four chefs that hosted booths at Food Day 2015 held at Los Angeles City Hall by the Food Policy Council. An annual gathering, Food Day is meant to help people appreciate their access to healthy food and raise public awareness of giving back to the community.
During his first time participating in Food Day, Jones presented two dishes: a turkey meatball crostini sub with kale and a creamy corn soup.
Jones’ father worked for nonprofit organizations such as Food From the ‘Hood and Dome Village, Jones said. Growing up in Los Angeles in an environment that promotes providing healthy and sufficient food to low-income communities, Jones learned the importance of food and volunteering. Jones said his father provided organic food to the poor before the term “organic” was even created.
“As a child, I was blessed to see farm-to-table organic from the time I was born, and as I got older, I experienced the time and love it takes to prepare homemade food,” Jones said.
Similar to Jones, chef Lane Gold said she aims to provide food for the homeless. It was also Gold’s first time at Food Day, as she wanted to promote healthy eating for the homeless.
Gold worked at South Central Farm, one of the largest urban farms in the United States, for more than two decades, though the farm has battled settlement issues for years between clothing stores and park space.
“We are on the front line fighting to save South Central Farm,” Gold said. “The rest of the food that we provide goes to Skid Row, homeless people in Los Angeles.“
Artist chef Genevieve Erin O’Brien served two types of popcorns. One of them is called “Curry ‘O’,” since it has the strong flavor of Indian curry.
“You can think of it as a reverse colonialism,” O’Brien said.
The other popcorn, O’Brien said, was called “Orientalize This!” and was meant to represent Asian American feminists. It was made of organic white chestnut, honey ginger and Yuzu salt. O’Brien said while some people think of Asian Americans as a sweet and docile group, the ginger gives a sharp and fun twist.
She holds spice workshops several times a month, and taught at culinary lessons to children from 8 to 12 years old at Common Threads, an edible schoolyard in Los Angeles. She uses these activities to raise public awareness of and interest in food.
“I enjoy sharing the experience of making food with people,” O’Brien said. “I joined Food Day because my ethics match with the Food Policy Council’s ethics.”
O’Brien said she insists on using quality ingredients for making her food and pays her employees more than minimum wage to protect the rights of people in the food industry.
“I strive for an ethical approach at all levels of production,” O’Brien said.
Chef Bryce Fluellen, on the other hand, is more experienced with Food Day. Fluellen works on the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, specifically on the subcommittee called Healthy Cornerstone Committee. This is his second time presenting dishes at Food Day. He made sweet potato chipotle bisque topped with crispy collard strips.
Fluellen said that as a black man he wants to help improve access to healthy food for communities of color. He added that communities of color have higher chances of acquiring food- and lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes.
“My vision for food equity is that we continue to challenge and push back against the status quo that says our food system is too complex and big to fix,” Fluellen said. “My vision is that the good food soldiers fighting the fight for justice every day have on their long-distance shoes and are prepared to keep running until we reach the finish line.”