Fermentation Workshops + Microbiome Analysis

Welcome to The Living Food Initiative

Hello Neighbors and Friends! Welcome to the Living Food Initiative - a place to explore connections between food, microbes, ecology, culture and health (from the ground up). As someone who cares deeply about the health and well-being of all kinds of life on earth, including the health of the planet, I decided to create a place where community-based projects take precedent. 

I have always been drawn to research that explores how the worlds we inhabit (socially, culturally, ecologically, and even politically) become biologically embedded in the body and shape health and dis-ease. How do our relationships, environments, food systems, stressors, and communities influence the internal conditions that allow us to flourish and/or struggle? 

These are complex questions that are not easy to study or fund. But I believe they matter deeply and through The Living Food Initiative, I hope to create collaborative projects, workshops, conversations, and community-based research that help bring these ideas into the world in both meaningful and accessible ways. 

I hope you’ll join me! Here is my first invitation:

Are you interested in participating in a fermentation workshop with the possibility of receiving your own microbiome analysis? I have been hosting and facilitating hands-on fermentation workshops for many years, which were first developed at GYST Fermentation Bar in Minneapolis. Since then, I’ve added a lot of new information on the gut microbiome and want to bring these workshops to a community near you! Do you live in the upper Midwest? Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota? Are you interested in learning more about at-home fermentation and/or the human gut microbiome? Do you want a snapshot of your own gut microbiome? 

Let me explain a little more…as a microbiome scientist, I personally believe that, currently,  many commercial microbiome companies overstate what can actually be concluded about a person’s microbiome. I am offering something different. Think of it more as an educational microbiome exploration, which gives you a snapshot of what bugs you have in your gut. Or in other words, a personalized introduction to the tiny little friends inside that do so many incredible things for your health! 

Please note, I am trying to keep the cost accessible. This analysis would NOT diagnose any medical conditions, give medical advice, and does not promise any kind of personalized health outcomes. If you are looking for that, I highly recommend checking out Zoe.com (their test kit), podcasts, nutrition programs, etc. 

This offering would give you a glimpse of the bugs in your gut while we explore how microbial communities relate to food, fermentation, ecology and human health. 

If you are interested in participating, please reach out to me via the contact form here. Thank you in advance!