Ashley Smith

My family inspires me to Cook, my mother cooked all my meals growing up; all of our family gatherings were at my home. Food makes me think of family, laughter, and community. Everyone was welcome to the table and I always enjoyed sharing food and sharing love with people and inviting friends to become family. People always came back because the food was great and we had a great time. So I just associate Food with love and family.

My all-time favorite dish to make is Thanksgiving. It has my favorite mac & cheese (I cook like someone’s grandmother)and my succulent turkey with all the fixings greens, sweet potato pie, homemade dressing, potato salad. It’s like a food extravaganza, you get to taste all of my favorite foods and it’s always a good time. My turkey is hands-down the best fall off the bone flavor in every bite.

I would build a garden; I want to teach people that food is medicine. After my mother got sick I really had to break down food as a means to heal. I want to teach others how to explorer the world through cooking and use fresh items. And I want to create the garden as an opportunity to-teach entrepreneurship to children and families while building sustainable communities. Teaching people how to grow food while teaching them how to grow a business!