Appalachian Community Cookbook Project Appalachian recipes & stories have always lived at the heart of mountain kitchens and family traditions. From cast-iron skillets on wood stoves to handwritten recipe cards tucked inside flour tins, these dishes carry the stories of our families and the communities that raised us. But across Appalachia, many of those same communities are facing a growing challenge: food insecurity . In towns and hollers throughout the region, families oft

When I was growing up, we always went to my grandparents’ house for Christmas. There would be anywhere from twenty to thirty people crowded inside, with children packed in so tight it felt like the house could barely hold us all. The air buzzed with excitement as we waited for the moment when it would finally be time to open presents.

Going to Mamaw’s and Papaw’s Shared by Susan I remember piling into the car and heading up the holler to Mamaw and Papaw’s, coats buttoned tight and gifts balanced on our laps. Their house always smelled like wood smoke and something good cooking, and you could feel the warmth before you ever stepped inside. Mamaw would fuss over us the minute we walked through the door, touching our cheeks and saying how much we’d grown, while Papaw stood back smiling, glad just to have us t

Precious Memory Ornaments Shared by Debra The first Christmas without them felt wrong in ways I didn’t know how to name. Everything was the same, but nothing felt settled. When it came time to decorate the tree, we slowed down without saying why. Granny reached into the ornament box and carefully set three aside, one for each of them. Papaw’s ornament always made us smile. His brothers had made it years before as a joke, a tiny outhouse decorated with a Christmas wreath, comp