What is Maine food? Is it a cuisine limited to the past, or to a mythologized idea of the state? Does it expand with each wave of immigration to include the traditions of newcomers? Now, with the availability of ingredients from all over the world with the tap of a phone screen, can the cuisine of a geographical space even be defined? By design, a community cookbook is defined by the community it comes from, and once created, it offers a suggestion of which foods belong inside the community, and which are on the outside. In this discussion—with food!—we’ll talk about our efforts, as editors of the Maine Bicentennial Community  Cookbook and the Maine Community Cookbook, Volume 2, to discard the term “from away” in favor of an inclusive vision that honors the food traditions of all people who make the land we call Maine their home. We will illustrate this point by bringing four different styles of cornbread whose recipes are included in the Maine community cookbooks: anadama bread, johnny cakes, muufo, and creamy cornmeal cake. Participants in this session will be asked to look to their college community to explore these questions: Can an inclusive definition of a community's food increase feelings of belonging? How would we define “Bates Food"? How do we create a community cookbook that speaks to inclusion and food justice? What pitfalls might we encounter and how do we address them? If we were to create a community cookbook for the community in this room, what would that look like? If we were to create a community cookbook for Bates College, what would that look like? Finally, as a group, we will create the framework for a Bates College community cookbook that speaks to inclusion and food justice. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.

This workshop is part of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Observance at Bates, a community-wide opportunity to discuss, teach, and reflect on the legacy of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. The theme of this year’s observance is “Food Justice.” The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day events at Bates are free and open to the general public. Events that require tickets are noted on the schedule.