Somewhere during the span days since Covid-19 upended—well, everything—the Twitter-verse noted a nuance in this popular Mr. Rogers quote: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” Rogers’ words are inspiring on their merits. Yet here’s the thing: He was talking to kids, which means it’s us, the adults, who are being called on to help. […]

Categories: food & drink

SINCE 2014, THE FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA’S Culinary Literacy Center has been a hotspot for innovative food education. Every month’s roster of classes is rooted in the center’s mission to advance literacy through food. In some cases, that’s literal. Since 2015, the Edible Alphabet program has welcomed English language learners, including immigrants and refugees, to the library’s kitchen classroom for free six- to eight-week courses that blend culinary and language lessons. People from around the world prepare a shared meal, led […]

Categories: food & drink

Marcello De Feo grew up in a South Philly Italian household. His mother, Santa Bianca, came to America from Abruzzo when she was a teenager. “I’m first-generation Italian,” De Feo says. “My Nonna lived with us from when I was born.” Looking back, she looms large in his food memories. Each day, Nonna Paola would pack his school lunches. “I didn’t realize how spoiled I was. I’d go to school and my lunch was this amazing roll with things like […]

Categories: food & drink

IN THE U.S. ALONE, MORE THAN 52 MILLION TONS OF FOOD ENDS ITS JOURNEY IN A LANDFILL EACH YEAR. That’s more than a waste of food. Deprived of oxygen, a single head of romaine can take up to 25 years to decompose, producing climate-warming methane in the process. Yet, with recent innovations, that food may be put to productive use—even if it’s not on the plate. In the shadow of Newark airport, a new chapter in the state’s food-waste recycling […]

Categories: food & drink

Roughly once a month, employees from Nespresso’s North American headquarters in Manhattan board a bus and take the 60-mile journey to rural Sussex County. With the city in the rear-view, skyscrapers give rise to an open landscape defined by lakes, postage-stamp downtowns and hilly green vistas that stretch into the distance. It’s a far cry from their normal 9-to-5 digs. Yet this isn’t just a team-building exercise. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. On a farm and warehouse near Route […]

Categories: food & drink

Given the state of the Philly restaurant scene, it’s not easy to convince folks to cross the bridge for food. Lately, though, there are plenty of delicious reasons to hop on the Speedline to Collingswood, New Jersey. It’s not just for Joey Baldino’s Zeppoli, a draw for nine years running. (Though let’s be real: That’s reason enough to visit). A new guard of restaurants delivers both style and range, making this South Jersey suburb a destination in its own right. Read […]

Categories: food & drink