More than 80 Hoosiers are featured in Food for Thought: An Indiana Harvest, a book commissioned by Indiana Humanities to serve as the legacy of the two-year award-winning program called Food for Thought. Featuring first-person narratives and rich photography, the coffee table book captures and shares stories from Hoosiers about the food renaissance taking place across the state.
All proceeds from this book will go toward funding programs for the people of Indiana through humanities events, programs, resources, and grants statewide.
About Food for Thought
In early 2010 Indiana Humanities, the state’s humanities council, joined Indiana’s Family of Farmers to serve up Food for Thought, a celebration and examination of food and the role it plays in our culture. For two years, we invited people from across Indiana to mull over what’s on their plates, how it got there, and what it means. At the same time, we challenged them to consider food’s significance in our communities, nation, and world and to confront the serious issues surrounding food—issues such as hunger, nutrition, and food production and security.
Components of Food for Thought included a traveling exhibit that crisscrossed the state, an agriculture essay contest for students, a high-profile event with chefs and authors Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert, a robust partnership program, and more.
Why food? Because while food serves as a common denominator among all people, our eating habits and passions reveal the differences among us as individuals and groups. And because food provides a natural convener, bringing us together both for daily routines, once-in-a-lifetime moments, and everything in between. Food sustains us, unites us, inspires us, defines us, nurtures us, comforts us, and so much more.
Why Indiana Humanities? Because food offers us a tangible means for demonstrating what we believe the humanities bring to the people of Indiana: a greater understanding of who we are through the unique things we do, create, value, and believe.
About David Hoppe:
David Hoppe is an award-winning journalist, cultural critic, and playwright. He writes a regular column and is a contributing editor for NUVO, the alternative weekly in Indianapolis.
About Kristin Hess:
Kristin Hess is an award-winning photographer, graphic designer, and program coordinator for Indiana Humanities. She was ambassador of the Food for Thought program, which won the 2011 Schwartz Prize for top public humanities program in the nation.
About Indiana Humanities:
Indiana Humanities connects people, opens minds, and enriches lives by creating and facilitating programs that encourage Hoosiers to think, read, and talk. Learn more at www.IndianaHumanities.org.