Executive chef of Che, and co-founder of Breaking Bread NYC, Tara Thomas is committed to making healthy food accessible to marginalized communities.
Today, on Earth Day, BREDA will be donating 10% of your purchases to Tara’s organization Breaking Bread NYC, whose mission is to address societal inequities surrounding nourishment by delivering healthy meals to NY communities facing oppression and food insecurity.
We sat down with Tara and discussed the way plant-based cuisine celebrates sustainability and empowers conscious choices surrounding food and agriculture.
What do you make time for in the morning?
In the mornings I make time to be with myself that looks like making adaptogenic tea lattes, cleaning my home, and meditation.
What's your earliest food related childhood memory?
My earliest food related childhood memory is eating cut fruit my mother prepared throughout the day.
We love how involved you are in building community. How did you come up with the idea for Breaking Bread NYC?
Breaking Bread NYC was cofounded by 4 other members, Russel came up with the name. It was simply to pay homage to coming together over food regardless of one another's background.
Breaking Bread NYC is on a mission to _________ (fill in the blank).
Bring meals to NY communities facing oppression, inequality, and food insecurity. We work with local NY restaurants that are predominantly owned/run by Black, Brown, and/or Indigenous chefs and business owners, paying them a livable wage to bring healthy meals to vulnerable communities facing food insecurity at no cost to the recipient.
What inspired you to become vegan? What was the transition like? Any advice for people who want to become vegan?
I had a friend who was vegan, I became more conscious of my eating. I became vegetarian, then decided I would go cold turkey becoming a vegan. The transition was easy, I felt very inspired to cook! Highly recommend this book.
Through your passion for food and agriculture, you also highlight important environmental and societal issues (ie climate change and food accessibility in marginalized communities). What are some things you hope people can learn from your work?
I hope that folks can learn compassion in the food space. That our greatest effort to peace in our world is by fighting for equity in the food space for marginalized communities.
The pandemic and ‘Stay at Home’ orders helped a lot of us lean into hobbies and become closer to our passions. How did that time affect you, your cooking, and Breaking Bread?
Truly a blessing, I started urban farming, eating from the local community garden, and Breaking Bread was born June of 2020 in the wake of the protests for George Flloyd.
Follow Along
Previous
