{"id":16249,"date":"2025-10-07T23:53:58","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T05:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/from-seed-to-table-to-story-everybody-eats-highlights-the-spirit-of-sharing\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:56:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:56:00","slug":"from-seed-to-table-to-story-everybody-eats-highlights-the-spirit-of-sharing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/from-seed-to-table-to-story-everybody-eats-highlights-the-spirit-of-sharing\/","title":{"rendered":"From seed to table to story: Everybody Eats highlights the spirit of sharing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A
A lavender-infused salad with edible flowers is served Sept. 7 during an Everybody Eats field trip to Los Miramontes Farm in Cortez. The monthlong program also features other organizations that deal with food production and farming, such as Fozzie\u2019s Farm and the Montezuma School to Farm Project. (Courtesy of Susan Lisak)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Three years ago, the Cortez Cultural Center sought to unite the community during a time of political division. A staff member made a simple observation: \u201cWell, everybody eats.\u201d<\/p>\n

The phrase stuck, and so did the idea that food could bridge differences and build community. That idea inspired Everybody Eats, the center\u2019s monthlong series of workshops, field trips, fundraisers and shared meals.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s program continues under Executive Director Susan Lisak, who took over following a leadership change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to bring people from different backgrounds together to share stories about food and their love of food,\u201d Lisak said. \u201cSharing recipes and learning how things are prepared can strengthen our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program began Friday with the Food for All event, which featured an art reception themed \u201cBountiful Harvest,\u201d a community food-resources guide and a lively dessert auction. About 50 people attended. Lisak said the guide covers local resources \u2013 from food pantries and senior services to the Montezuma School to Farm Project and the Dolores Family Project \u2013 so residents know how to find more food options or where to donate if able.<\/p>\n

The center\u2019s signature fundraiser, Food from the Heart, is set for 5 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Cortez Cultural Center. Admission includes tastings of each dish presented, plus appetizers and the evening\u2019s grand finale: stone soup.<\/p>\n

The event will feature eight local speakers, each sharing a personal story tied to a recipe \u2013 examples include a grandmother\u2019s pie, a wedding-day dish or a family\u2019s holiday favorite.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey talk about why that dish is important in their life,\u201d Lisak said. \u201cAnd then they pass out samples so everybody gets to taste what they\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

The evening will close with a retelling of the classic European folk tale \u201cStone Soup,\u201d in which hungry villagers pool their ingredients to create a shared meal. Attendees can add herbs to the pot before it\u2019s ladled out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a way to show that everyone contributes a little, and together we feed the community,\u201d Lisak said.<\/p>\n

Throughout the month, Everybody Eats includes the Culinary Adventures program, featuring field trips and workshops that highlight the bounty of the region.<\/p>\n

Participants visited county farms and ranches and attended talks on edible plants, beekeeping and tea gardens. A recent lavender tour at Los Miramontes Farm particularly stood out for Lisak.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got to pick the lavender, taste the different varieties, and then we had this beautiful salad with edible flowers and a lavender-infused dressing,\u201d she said. \u201cIt brought it all together, growing, harvesting and enjoying food straight from the land.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cultural Center\u2019s monthlong fundraiser returns, celebrating local food <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[21,28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-16249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cortez","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16249"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20095,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16249\/revisions\/20095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16249"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=16249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}