I’d wake up to the freshly made smell of curry. All the spices and masala from the kitchen was enough to wake me up. Eid was just one of those occasions that would make the house more lively than usual. It was a holiday in which the food was the most enchanting part. In my family, recipes for traditional foods are passed down, one of them including curry. Dishes like curry reminded me of my Bangladeshi heritage .Curry can teach people that my culture has a rich history of food, spices, and family recipes.  Every year for Eid we would share different dishes with our non-Muslim neighbor who would always enjoy my mom’s cooking and especially her chicken curry. Food influences people to come together and share their part of their identity. This includes everyone living in New York city because of the cultures, traditions, and stories that immigrants and diverse communities bring to the city. When people cook, sell or share this food they become part of every day NY life and help people learn about each other. In New York today, many immigrants of different backgrounds open their own restaurants and small businesses to support their families.  A lot of the time people enjoy foods from different countries but still show hostility to the very immigrants who make those dishes for a living. So it's important that as a collective we support them and have policies that can give financial support to the small businesses and restaurants that need them. 

– MT

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant