Humans of Brighter Bites (May 2017, 1 of 3)

“I am from Puerto Rico, from an island, so I was used to my whole life being able to walk outside and get an avocado from the tree. All of our food came from the earth. If it wasn’t from the earth and it was meat – my family had the chicken. Everything was natural. Coming to America was a shock because the food didn’t taste the same. Even if you went to the store and bought the fruits and vegetables, the taste is not the same. You have to buy everything already processed. Even the meat tasted different. We didn’t know what a tortilla was until we moved to Texas. It made us unhealthy for a while. In the last few years, I’ve gained so much weight, but I have learned to go back to my culture and look for the fruits and vegetables that we eat every day. I have learned to cook. I have learned to not buy these processed foods and give them to my kids, which is the most important part.”

Humans of Brighter Bites is a series that captures how Brighter Bites volunteers, participants, teachers, and supporters connect with food. Check back here for each installment of the current story and each month for a new story.