Program 1: Chicago Botanic Garden, Main Campus

The Taste of Community program series kicked off at the Chicago Botanic Garden's main campus.

We asked participants—Community Advisory Group members and internal staff advisory—to bring a recipe, dish, or story representing food that "brings them home." Plates were passed, and emotions surfaced; there was power in every bite.

What follows are stories from participants—their original words and recipes, including, in some cases, facsimiles of handwritten slips of paper stained over the years from busy kitchen counters.