A nonprofit will soon be making its debut in Williamsburg, and its leaders say they are taking a new approach to an old problem.
The E.A.T. Foundation, founded in Richmond in 2016, describes its mission as “strengthening communities around the table” by working to eradicate food deserts.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, food deserts are areas where residents may have limited access to healthy and affordable food due to factors like poverty, a lack of nearby grocery stores and/or transportation.
The USDA says residents in multiple areas in Greater Williamsburg, namely lower James City County and portions of the City of Williamsburg, face barriers to getting healthy food because of things like distance and income.
Residents in food deserts may have to settle for eating at fast food restaurants or getting a meal from a convenience store on a regular basis. As a result, experts say they can suffer the medical side effects of poor nutrition, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Thinking outside the box
Other charitable organizations work toward the same goal of improving community access to healthy food, but E.A.T.’s executives said they approach the problem from a different angle.
The key is not only to increase access to food but also to promote healthy eating habits, according to E.A.T. Executive Director Zach McElgunn. E.A.T.’s approach is to use food to tell a story while preparing a meal. By doing this, he says, it makes the habits and lessons easier to remember.
“The easiest way to inspire that food behavior is to show you can use food to communicate,” McElgunn said. “We wouldn’t want to come at it from the standpoint of we want to fix your problem. [Instead,] let’s all use this way to approach this skill we all have, and use it in a more artistic and constructive way.”
Community table
E.A.T. accomplishes this by organizing programs that partner families in group dinners, alongside chefs who work with the organization. The chefs demonstrate how to prepare a two-course meal using healthy ingredients, and build their meals around a story.
Organizers say the stories can demonstrate the versatility of food. In turn, it can help shape perspectives on the importance of food that may lead to healthier diets.
“We think if we create a platform for people to share meals together, they’ll be more invested in their food use,” McElgunn said in an interview.
The two families then continue to pair up for three more joint meals that they make together at their own homes. An E.A.T. leader or chef will join them and go over basic culinary skills, meal planning and a nutritional framework.
Families will also tell their own story with the preparation of their meals. After three shared meals, they will get together with E.A.T. staff and other participating families for a potluck. For the potluck, each family will prepare a dish using the skills they learned in the program.
“Our real focus is on changing behavior, and this is our tool for doing that,” E.A.T. Chief Experience Officer Sean McElgunn said.
E.A.T. will administer surveys to participants before, during and after the program, Sean McElgunn added. He said one of their main markers for success will be how often participants report preparing meals in their own home.
E.A.T. and drink
E.A.T. is joining forces with the Virginia Beer Company to host a fundraiser that will support its ongoing efforts to educate, and to expand its operations into Williamsburg. Ferment will be held in the VBC brewery on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m., and just like the group dinners, the event will tell a story with food.
In this case, the six-course meal will be paired with VBC’s brews, and will tell the tale of the ways beverages and food produced using fermentation techniques have shaped the course of human history.
E.A.T. calls events like Ferment “pop-up dining,” and according to the foundation’s website, E.A.T. has hosted pop-up meals in Richmond, Roanoke and Fredericksburg. The events are used to fund programs that provide fresh fruit and vegetables to homeless shelters, offer gardening kits to disenfranchised children, and promote sustainable eating.
One of the reasons E.A.T.’s team believes events such as these are successful in spreading awareness for healthy eating habits is because they are often hosted in venues where food is not typically prepared. For example, Virginia Beer Company hosts food trucks, but does not run a kitchen.
“The sites we go to [for fundraisers] don’t necessarily have fully operational kitchens,” Sean McElgunn said. “The chef when he comes in is actually cooking in a makeshift way. The underlying message is you can cook good food anywhere.”
Tickets are $85 and include meal and beverage, as well as a $10 tax-deductible donation to E.A.T.’s efforts. The event is limited to 35 guests, and registration can be done here.
