What does Food Mean To Us?

Merriam-Webster's definition of food:  material consisting of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy.

To me, food is a very essential material, both physically and spiritually, one we cannot live without.

It also means togetherness and love.  "It is through food that we create moments of togetherness; through food that we express ourselves; through food that we share times of celebration and sorrow; and through food that we mark the changing seasons and the passing of time. Food adds creativity to our days and excitement to our nights. It nourishes our minds, our bodies and our souls."

This is a quote from a book called The Meaning of Food, by Patricia Harris, David Lyon, and Sue McLaughlin.  It says it all.  Food is universal in bringing people together, in good times and in bad.

We laugh, we cry, we chow.
We cook for our spouses, our families, and even for strangers.  It gives us pride and happiness to know that we prepared a meal for everyone to enjoy.  We use it for centerpieces and decorations for holidays and special occasions.  It comforts us during the winter, and it cools us down in the summer.  We love brunswick stew in the Fall and Winter, and ice cream and watermelon in the dog days of Summer.  At home, we grow it in our gardens, because that's the thing to do (and it tastes good too).  Local farmers make it their duty to raise cattle, chickens, goats, etc to feed us. We travel to the Farmer's Market to find an abundance of seasonal surprises.
We use it to celebrate birthdays, for the young, and for the old.  We use it as a social medium for business meetings and school functions.  We use it to celebrate weddings and lifetime achievements.  We serve food as a comfort item during times of mourning, when we need the support of our family.  It brings us all together to one table, where we discuss our daily routine, our plans for the future, and our life experiences.  We laugh, we cry, we chow.  It is our method of survival.