Say ‘Hello’ to the Diaspora!

If we all had nothing in common, there would be one instrumental tool that connects us all: food! When analyzing the history, and rather the story, of food, we delve into a rich story. A story that gives us a timeline that can be drawn all the way back to our roots. We develop an understanding of how our ancestors, while burdened by slavery and dispersed throughout the world, still managed to incorporate their culture and heritage into their new environments to sustain the very identity of who they were and are through us.

African Diaspora Foodways and everything it entails directly reflects the politics of its time, the healthcare of its time, and even the food availability and scarcity of its time. In studying the patterns of food throughout history, we will gain a better education of how the tract of food history goes beyond just the food itself.

The ingredients of our ancestral cuisine’s greatly contributed to healthy development of the body and brain, and fought against the infant mortality rate of its time. This isn’t surprising considering ancestral cuisines consisted of numerous fruits, vegetables, and other nutrient-rich foods that Little Cocoa Bean aims to reintroduce through a variety of new recipes, combinations, and substitutes.

The goal isn’t for all parents to become super scientists or masters of the African Diaspora, but rather, the goal is to be in a position of being able to wield the tools, education, and resources we now have to set a better foundation for our black babies who are our future and will carry our legacy.