I love food. I love to cook or try new restaurants, but most importantly I love the way sitting down to eat can turn a group of people into a community.

I also think food is one of the easiest ways to understand how politics actually affects our everyday lives. Grocery prices, SNAP benefits, school lunches, food deserts, farming, wages, immigration, climate change, and who has access to good food can all feel like huge political issues, but eventually, they end up at someone's kitchen table.

I started Kitchen Table Politics because I wanted to connect those two things.

The goal is to bring people together through food while making it easier to understand and take action on the issues that shape what we eat. I don't think being politically engaged has to mean knowing everything that's happening all the time or spending hours doomscrolling. Sometimes it can be as simple as learning about one issue, making dinner, talking about it with someone you care about, and sending a postcard.

That's why every month, Kitchen Table Politics picks one topic and builds an issue around it. There is a newsletter to read, recipes to make, art to keep, music to cook to, and something tangible you can do to try to make a difference in these trying times.

Food is something that connects us, and I think the kitchen table is a pretty good place to start.

Pull up a chair at my table. Everyone is welcome.