photography: Gentl and Hyers
Above: Cookbook author, radio host, recipe developer and founder of EATT, Julia Turshen
Nation
ROOM FOR
All AT THIS TABLE
Online effort aims to expand diversity and opportunity in the food industry words: Colleen Leonardi & Julia Turshen
E
quity At The Table (EATT) is a dynamic effort to level the playing field in the food industry by providing an online database of women, gender-nonconforming and LGBTQ food professionals. EATT is designed to change up who does the hiring and who gets hired to tip things to a more equitable alignment. “Every single decision we make every single day about food is a political one,” says organizer Julia Turshen, a cookbook author, radio host and recipe developer. Need a food writer? Search EATT. Looking for a caterer in your area? Search EATT. And if you’re not a woman of color or in the LGBTQ community but you’re hiring, you can submit your profile to EATT, too. The website, launched this past April, is supported by a Patreon page, as there are no fees to join. One of our very own Indy food leaders, Candace Boyd Wylie, is a member (see her story on page 10). “The EATT platform is like nothing else I’ve seen in a good while,” 6
edible INDY Fall 2018
she says. “I remember the day the launch of the site was announced. My social feeds and social groups were all abuzz. What was this, I thought? A food-geared creative space dedicated to women, the nonbinary and people of color? YES, PLEASE. There wasn’t anything of its kind like it. I was elated. “After reading everything I could find, I jumped in and created a profile immediately. Julia Turshen and her team have made EATT one of my go-to directories. I’m on the site almost daily, from looking for inspiration to finding points of connection for projects and creative work. I think EATT is important because it allows the many of us who don’t have a large voice in the food world to have space. I’m tired of straight white men telling the food story. We are well overdue for diverse stories to be shared. Shine a light on the voices that have been marginalized. We have food stories to be told, too.”
