FAQs

What is Zomppa?

Zomppa is an innovative, 501(c) 3 nonprofit that aims to transform the relationship between food and people through awareness, dialogue, and education.

Zomppa is an integrated food advocacy platform that brings food back to the central role of our lives by: 1) influencing public opinion with an interactive, online café, and international food magazine; and 2) empowering children through Zomppabus, a mobile food atlas and online classroom.

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What is your philosophy?

Our approach is interdisciplinary and rooted in nutritional ecology, a term inspired by the indomitable Dr. Joan Gussow, known as the “matriarch of the eat-locally-think-globally food movement” by the New York Times. The notion of nutritional ecology examines the “biological, technical, social, scientific, and commercial matrices in which the production, purchasing, and consumption of food is embedded” (J.D. Gussow, The Feeding Web, 1978).

In other words, we examine food in its entirety within an interconnected web and never within isolation.

Our mission is tied to our beliefs that:

  • The current food system is broken and unless each of us does something about it, our species and our planet are in serious trouble
  • Good recipes not only taste good, but also promote the sustainability of culture, a fair food system, and the Earth

From multiple perspectives, our writers hope to raise awareness that the following not only lead to tastier and happier eating occasions, but also promote health, the economy, environmental stewardship, fair and responsible labor, and vibrant communities:

  • Eat locally, organically, and seasonally as best we can;
  • Learn to cook and minimize overly processed foods;
  • Keep everything in moderation;
  • Shop and consume consciously and mindfully;
  • Celebrate and share culture and tradition;
  • Care;
  • Care not only about yourself.

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Why does Zomppa care?

  • Discussions about food are often done in isolation–by topic, location, race, or venue;
  • Real change in our food system requires a collective of voices to mobilize action;
  • This generation is predicted to have a lower life expectancy than their parents;
  • Childhood obesity has doubled in 30 years;
  • 33% U.S.-born in 2000 will have diabetes;
  • 11% of U.S. students can identify the U.S. on a map;
  • Low-income/minority communities are disproportionately impacted by: diet-related health risks, lack of early nutritional and ecological education, and preparation for a multicultural economy.

In the current economic environment, budget cuts have forced many schools and organizations to cut field trips to museums, specialized programs, and staff. Programs such as nutrition, cooking, or language, are oftentimes the first cut. Yet the need for this education – particularly at the early stages of a child’s development – is urgent.

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What is your approach?

Access to sufficient, affordable, and healthy foods is one of the key social justice issues of our time. Demanding access, however, first requires awareness of the central role of food. Food is a tangible and relevant tool by which we can raise awareness in adults and children about the interrelatedness of food in health culture, politics, the economy, the environment, and language.

  • Food is connected to every part of human life.
  • An individual who is intellectually and emotionally engaged with their food and their world has greater opportunity to reach his or her fullest potential.
  • Every individual has the potential to be drivers of positive social change.
  • Societal issues can be creatively resolved through strong and active communities.
  • Get children hooked and the whole family is hooked.

Learning is participatory with recurring themes:

  • Diversity (foods, experiences, places)
  • Personal responsibility (take care of self and others)
  • Social responsibility (citizenship, the Earth)

Zomppa seeks to reduce alarming rates of childhood obesity and related health risks by bringing to urban communities an accessible and innovative educational mobile museum that connects food with healthy habits, global exploration, environmental sustainability, local engagement, and creative intellectual stimulation.

In a rapidly changing world, it is critical that children and adults from all segments of society have the opportunity to access information and learning opportunities that encourage a lifetime of healthy eating habits and engagement with the world around them at the local level with global awareness. Zomppa raises food awareness by bringing food to life.

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How did Zomppa get started?

Everything has an origin story. Check out ours here.

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What does Zomppa mean?

Based on the Tibetan word “to meet,” Zomppa brings People, Play and Passion together; it is where food meets people because this is how good ideas to change our food systems being. Food Good, Social Good.

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How does Zomppa advocate for good food?

  • Replicable, dynamic, integrated
  • Global perspective rooted in local realities
  • A hands-on, fun, and interdisciplinary learning approach about healthy food choices through a global lens

Zomppa will have three areas to raise the importance of how we relate to our food, our current and primary being our food magazine:

  1. International Food Magazine – a dynamic, integrated platform to raise awareness of the impact of our food choices and to mobilize the public to action for positive social change through original feature articles, news, and columns written by storytellers, photographers, farmers, parents, and cooks from all over the world

Over the next few months, you will also see more to come about:

  1. Online Community Café;
  2. Zomppabus – an online classroom and a mobile food atlas on a bus.

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Tell me more about this international food magazine.

Our food magazine is an online platform that disseminates and shares information with an international staff of writers. We stuff you with information, knowledge, and recipes without being stuffy.

We explore food encounters and raise critical issues from a diverse range of geographic, political, cultural, intellectual, ethnic, and emotional perspectives. Whether from the northern snows of Canada, the warm Mediterranean Sea of coastal Italy, the sunny beaches in the Land Down Under, the deserts of Arizona, or the foggy mornings of California, you won’t find a lot of technical words or complex recipes here. At Zomppa.com, our writers celebrate the uniqueness of our heritages, pursue culinary adventures, offer beloved recipes and share our gastronomical thoughts and meanderings with you and FOR you!

We all love to travel, and our backgrounds combined include American, African-American, Arab, Australian, British, Canadian, Cherokee, Chinese, Haitian, Korean, Jordanian, Indian, Iranian, Irish, Italian, Liberian, Japanese, Mexican, Norwegian, Quechua/Wanka, Peruvian, Swedish, and Tibetan cultures…to name a few. Our guest contributors add even more depth and texture to the conversation.

We share with you books and movies about food we like, challenge you to check your food labels, and show you healthier alternatives to overly processed foodstuffs.

Want to learn more about our writers and contributors?

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What do you write about?

Food.

We believe…

…that food touches upon every dimension of life
…in frank food – food that is unadulterated and recognizable to our grandparents
…in having fun with our food
…in honoring our cultural roots with our food
…eating healthy and being aware is not elitist
…food is an issue of social and environmental justice
…food is art and a connector of us
…we should question, challenge, and…eat.

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How do I know when you write what?

Although we write and inform in an interdisciplinary way and believe that nothing, nothing, can be discussed about food in isolation, we attempt to focus topics to help you navigate our site.

Our week takes you on a journey, starting from exploring the world and families to identifying ways to fight for a more sustainable and fair food system:

Explore Mondays: feature articles on food from different cultures and about families:

  • Travel & Culture: different cultural traditions from around the globe, holidays, memories from a socio-cultural and historical perspective
  • Kids & Food: stories and issues surrounding feeding and education children and kid-friendly foods

Sustainable Tuesdays: columns on home cooking, conscious shopping:

  • Melissa@Market: discoveries and recipes inspired by visits to the farmer’s market
  • Scratch vs. Shortcut: homemade alternatives to store-bought food
  • Sweet Beat: healthier versions of the sweet stuff you love

Frank Wednesdays: challenges to identify Frank Food:

  • Frank Food: polls on which is more “frank” and which is more “Frankenstein”

Political Thursdays: feature articles on food politics, safety, and health

  • Health & Nutrition: issues ranging from children’s health to broader issues related to food systems and health trends
  • Food Politics: opinions and discussion about the politics of food, food insecurity, economic development, and environmental issues

Fight Fridays: columns on food advocates and advocacy around the world:

  • Class Act: organizations around the world engaged in promoting food, health, and sustainability
  • Food Fighters: highlights in folks doing good food work in the U.S.

Don’t forget to check out our other features, which get updated throughout the week::

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Tell me more about this community cafe.

Stay tuned…more come!

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Tell me more about Zomppabus.

Zomppabus is an online and mobile classroom. Currently, we offer:

      • Neda’s ABCs: fun, short videos for children that introduces foods from A-Z! Our instructor, Neda, teaches about health, language, and easy recipes!
      • Where do I come from? workbooks: fun, free, downloadable workbooks for children ages 3-6 about where different foods come from.
      • Zomppabus Healthy Eating and Global Exploration Curriculum: our innovative, hands-on curricula that takes children ages 4-8 around the world while learning about healthier habits, nutrition, the environment, language, culture, and cooking.
      • Sol Food Mobile Farm: journal of a group of young sustainability advocates reaching out to communities around the U.S. and Canada and teaching about sustainability.

Zomppabus targets children from ages 3 to 12 (especially those from under-represented communities, remote areas, and places all around the world), parents, families and educators to:

      • Raise food awareness by bringing food to life
      • Develop healthier food attitudes;
      • Encourage awareness in the world.

For more, please visit Zomppabus.

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There are many Zomppas. How can I tell who is who?

We’re not trying to confuse you – but we do want to share our multiple viewpoints, stories, and attitudes towards food. You will see the author name under each article or post. You can also search all articles and photos under each Staff Writer or Contributor’s name.

Check out our Staff page to find out more about us!

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How do I know when you have something new to say?

Bookmark this page, turn your RSS feeds on, or subscribe via email.

Follow us on our active Twitter account, where we post timely food news and updates from around the world throughout the day.

We also have an active Facebook account page with updates.

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How can I contribute an article or book recommendation?

We always welcome guest contributors and new staff writers! We do make sure any contributors understand and support our food philosophy, can write well, and have access to at least a good camera phone and can take good photographs. We welcome new writers, writers with existing platforms, and non-writers-who-can-write-and-have-something-to-say-about-food. Please submit your idea for an article on our Contact page. Our Editors will review and get back to you shortly.

Featured Posts
Featured posts are stories, opinions, and information that touch upon the role or impact of food in some manner. They should be between 650-1,000 words (some exceptions) and include at least three quality photos. Photos should be original, although in instances where they are not available, must be sourced. Feature posts do not require, but often include, recipes.

TidBit of the Day
TidBits are recent news breaks, restaurant or product recommendations, new studies or interesting information. They can be video clips or links to articles that are newsworthy. They should be between 50-500 words (with some exceptions) and include at least one photo.

Photo of the Day
Photos are welcome – both professional and amateur. Please make sure the size is under 2MB, and that exposure, lighting and clarity are important.

Book Corner
Please send us any recommendations of food-related books for adults or children. Please include a short write-up and review.

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Can I advertise on Zomppa?

We welcome inquiries. Our Editors must first carefully review your mission and organization to see if it aligns with ours. Please contact us for more information.

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Do you do product reviews?

We welcome inquiries for product reviews without compensation. We do not guarantee that we will publish the review. If we do publish the review, we will review the donated product independently and without bias. Please contact us regarding product reviews.

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Can I just say anything on this website?

While we welcome constructive and respectful opinions and perspectives from readers and visitors to Zomppa’s Website, we do have a code of conduct. By using our website, you are agreeing to our User Agreement.

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