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Zomp-pa: (Zŏmp’pä) n., pl., -s. 1. a rebel 2. someone who believes that food is way more than just what we eat. Food, meet people.

Zomppa is an international food magazine that aims to be the food experience for the taste-, Earth-, and community-conscious. It aims to bring food back to the central role it plays in human life.

Based on the Tibetan word “to meet,” Zomppa brings People, Play and Passion together; it is where food meets people.

Get ready to be Zomppafied.

We bring food experiences from a range of geographic, cultural, intellectual, ethnic, and emotional perspectives. Whether from the northern snows of Canada, the warm Mediterranean Sea of coastal Italy or the sunny beaches of California, you won’t find a lot of technical words or complex recipes here. Our writers celebrate the uniqueness of their heritages and seek culinary adventures everywhere. You might find a family recipe from the First Peoples of the Americas or  an innovative twist to a traditional dish from the Far East or a tale of food-off-the-beaten path from the Land Down Under.

The Zomppa magazine is meant for all of us to share, engage, and discuss the issues that matter to us. It is meant for us to raise questions, challenge assumptions, and dispel myths. It is meant for us to enjoy the process of sharing these lessons and good food with our community, our children, and our families. We’re all in this together, so we might as well talk.

There are existing tensions and discomfort for the modern consumer. We will drive an hour to find a particular sea salt from Egypt or wait two hours for a Korean beef taco, but then wake up at 7 in the morning to have first pick at the Farmer’s Market because eating food grown within a 10-mile radius is the best thing we can do for ourselves and our planet. Hundreds of blogs and articles and news clips stress how important it is to eat organic foods, but the increasing food costs and decreasing economy make it difficult to justify spending $4.00 on a pound of organically-grown apples when the ones next to them look just as good for half the price. Recreational chefs, food blogs and the Food Network are the rave, but unless you are a self-professed “foodie,” food still seems far removed from the consciousness for most people.

• Does enjoying world and ethnic food mean not supporting eating local?
• Is organic really necessary?
• Why should people care or learn about food?

Zomppa challenges the notion that these tensions cannot be reconciled. Why is this important? Simply put, Food impacts every dimension of life.

To ignore this reality has very real and negative–even unintended–consequences for our future, health, environment, economy, society….

Zomppa.COM hosts the online, international food magazine that complements the non-profit organization that was established in late 2009. The 501(c)3) non-profit side of Zomppa is an interactive food atlas on wheels, an efficient model for delivering knowledge to schools/communities requiring minimal resources. By piquing children’s interest early, our interdisciplinary approach provides a fun way to learn, develop critical life skills to grapple with such issues, and ultimately, transform the relationship with food. Click here to find about more.

But here at the magazine, we’re not only about world cuisines and recipes; we’re not only a politically-oriented food blog; we’re not only about cooking for kids. Zomppa allows you to come to one place where all these issues converge…for they are interconnected. Come visit one area or all areas–depending on what you’re seeking today.

question | engage | challenge  | eat | travel | celebrate | learn | explore | play

Health/Nutrition: issues surround…health and nutrition, from children’s health to broader issues related to food systems and health trends.

Travel/Culture: stories about different cultures and countries, traditions, holidays, memories from a socio-cultural and historical perspective.

Science/Politics/Environment: opinions and discussion about the politics of food, food insecurity, economic development, and environmental issues.

Kids/Education: stories and issues surrounding feeding and education children and kid-friendly foods.

Photo of the Day: food scenes that capture us to share

TidBit of the Day: quick bits of news, tips, and food recommendations to share

Recipes: scrumptious recipes

Zomppa.org: A non-profit, interactive food atlas on a bus.

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Tags: cooking, cultural, culture, environment, farmer's market, food, Food Justice, food safety, health, healthy, international food magazine, parent, people, political, Recipe Vault, toddler

Category: Odds and Ends, TidBit of the Day