A most important post-Thanksgiving thank you.
Four months in, and we have something to say to you.
Sometimes, Thanksgiving is so filling, it's helpful to retreat back to the small things. Here, then, is American poet James Hackett's haiku:
Ever lingering
in the taste of the walnut:
deep autumn.
Haikus are strangely satisfying; so little, yet so much. (Gordon, an old friend and Food as a Verb reader in Nashville, agrees.) I never gave haikus a passing glance in my 30s, a decade of career-bulking. But now? It's good practice for me, as a human and writer, to tilt towards less.
Plates, glasses empty
We stand up from the table
Where did it all go?
The older I get – and as I understand more of my own suffering and neuroses – the more I'm drawn to simple things.
Like gathering eggs on a June morning.
Or flour, water and yeast.
Or standing in a pasture under a November sun.
Or smile and wave from a friend.
Would you indulge just one more haiku? It's for you.
Our Food as a Verb
Happens for one big reason:
You and you and you.
After four months of publishing – 28 stories in all – we're so thankful and grateful for all of you.
Really, supremely, head-over-heels thankful.
For this community of readers who support and encourage us in so many ways.
For those who gave advice and guidance when this media startup was just a teensy-tiny idea.
For our sustaining, financial partners – named and unnamed – whose generosity is making this happen. Like Whitney Drayer at Morgan Stanley.
Erik and Lauren Zilen at Niedlov's Bakery and Cafe.
Erik and Amanda Niel and Little Coyote, Main Street Meats and Easy Bistro & Bar.
Tucker Build and Jeff Cannon.
Dorris Shober and Lupi's Pizza Pies, nearly three decades in business.
And, our newest partner: Divine Goods.
Owned and operated by Adelaide Naumann, Divine Goods curates thoughtful, beautiful and locally-sourced gifts for any occasion.
Please support her and all our sponsors.
Food as a Verb is also gushing to introduce you to our newest member.
Meet Julie Ellison.
Julie, who grew up in north Alabama, returns to Chattanooga from years spent out west. The former editor of Climbing, a Sony Alpha Female grant winner and wildly creative filmmaker and photographer, Julie is – how shall we put this – brilliantly kickass. And down to earth. Funny. So authentically kind. Check out her portfolio and you'll immediately see we're so thankful she's joining our team.
Here are some of Julie's photos from a recent trip to Crabtree Farms.
Crabtree Farms, Chattanooga, Tennessee
This Wednesday, she'll publish the first of an ongoing series about a local family beginning to homestead in the heart of Red Bank.
Another winter announcement: we're developing some merch – t-shirts, hats – that we hope to unveil as the holiday season nears.
Finally, as we say goodbye to Thanksgiving, we leave you with some of Sarah's most beautiful images from the last 28 stories: moments, people, places for which we are most thankful.
See you Wednesday, everyone.
Bird Fork Farms, Cagle Mountain, Tennessee
"You could lay down all of your burdens and dine together."
Brian McDonald, Mac's Kitchen & Bar
Garlic, hens, Sequatchie Cove Farm. Ian Sullivan, The Oatmeal Experience.
"That’s what I want: to change people’s minds about Indian food."
Sujata Singh, Spice Trail
Dr. Robin Fazio and Erik Zilen, Gratefull lunch, Bill Keener and Sequatchie Cove Farm
"How many people and hands does it take to make one Niedlov's loaf?"
Erik Zilen, Niedlov's Bakery & Cafe
Alleia, Main St., Chattanooga, Tennessee
“When I put a wrench on a machine, time disappears."
Spencer Perez, Coffee Machine Service Co.
Alysia Leon, Bird Fork Farms, Cagle Mountain
"And it hit me: I don't have to sell drugs. I can sell something everybody uses. And everybody eats."
Bryan Slayton, Bad Wraps Inc.
"The food tells you a story.”
Khaled AlBanna, Calliope
Friends, old and new.
"Everybody can eat. Rich to poor. You understand what I'm saying?"
"I spent too much of my adult life not understanding what it meant to love myself. So these days, as a single mom, I’m learning to love and forgive myself.”
Rebecca Barron, Alleia + 5th & Taylor
All photography by Sarah Unger. Visit SarahCatherinePhoto.com
Story ideas? Interested in sponsorship opportunities + supporting our work? Feedback or questions? Email David Cook at david@foodasaverb.com. This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.
Food as a Verb thanks our sustaining partners for their generous support.
Female-and-locally owned, Divine Goods offers beautifully curated gifts for every occasion. Be divine and send someone special a Divine Goods gift - locally sourced when possible, and always thoughtful. Thanks to two-time James-Beard nominee Erik Niel, Easy Bistro & Bar offers unparalleled and deeply thoughtful dining in the heart of West Village. Niedlov's Bakery & Cafe, a Main St. anchor, has elevated our city's bakery experience to beautiful levels while strengthening community in immeasurable ways. Tucker Build offers Chattanooga a commercial construction firm made up of design-build experts specializing in the planning, building and managing process. For more than 25 years, Lupi's has served locally-sourced, creatively made and award-winningly delicious pizza pies from five nearby locations.