Our Daily Bread: What food makes you long for family?
Editor's note: This post is part of a series by Dr. Baker on Our Values about core American values. Dr. Wayne Baker welcomes guest columnist Kathy Macdonald, head of the Macdonald Group and an expert in helping businesses shift direction to adapt to our ever-changing culture. This week, Kathy writes about the role of food in defining our lives—and our communities. This is her first column …
My mother had seven meals — one for each day of the week. By the time I was born, I suspect she had mastered all seven. I can remember what we had for each night of the week. It seldom varied. I can’t blame her. She grew in the depths of the Great Depression when just getting by was a culinary art.
Every Sunday, it was roast beef put into the oven with potatoes before we headed off to church. Monday there were leftovers from Sunday (groan). Tuesday was my mother’s version of spaghetti without any hint of Italian seasonings. Wednesday meant chicken, which was her favorite. Thursday brought the dreaded salmon patties. Friday gave us Cornish pasties, and Saturday was reserved for hamburgers. And so another week would begin.
Right now, a billion men, women and children around the world are in the fasting month of Ramadan, which really is more like a month-long Muslim Thanksgiving. Every night after dark, families gather to break the fast, give thanks and eat their favorite family meals. Have you got a Muslim friend or colleague? Ask them to describe their favorite family meal this month.
This summer, we Americans are thinking about food more than we normally do. Headlines about the drought warn us that our grocery prices will rise soon. For those already struggling that is not good news.
What does it really mean when 2 billion Christians around the world pray regularly for “Our Daily Bread?”
So, what's the vivid image that phrase pops into your mind?
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Comments
Rudra N Rebbapragada
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 5:24 p.m.
"I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE." : We consume bread and other substances recognizing them as a source of sustenance or nutrients. Food as a source of nutrition is important but we must not ignore other aspects of Food. It functions to provide psychological satisfaction and mental contentment. It serves to promote social bonding, social relationships, and helps social interactions. Food gives us the ability to make moral choices to define our mortal existence. We can accept or reject a substance for moral reasons. The most important function of Food is that of its Spiritual nature; it establishes the God-Connection, the Connection between Energy-Dependent man and the Divine Providence.