July 25, 2020 will be Bellegarde’s last day of business for the time being. The financial and emotional toll of COVID-19 has made it impossible to bake bread and mill flour. We have been losing money since March 15, and there is simply no more left to lose. This combined with the hostile business environment of New Orleans, articulated perfectly in by Chef Eric Cook has only made things worse.

This spring, I had the privilege of traveling to Western Oklahoma for the first time to meet and learn from some of the smartest people in grain. Our gracious hosts included Mike Schulte, the president of the Oklahoma Wheat Commision, Bob Baker, an organic wheat farmer and partner to the bakery, and Dr. Brett Carver, a world class wheat breeder working with Oklahoma State University.

“We’ve created a regional fabric that generates hundreds of thousands of dollars each year: money that stays with the people who create value. We will always source the best, not scour for the cheapest. And we will continue to promote the integrity of flavor: “local food” is not a lifestyle; it’s imperative for Louisiana’s ecology and economy.” - Graison Gill

It is my hope, as a food producer in New Orleans, to cast some light on the shadows at our dining tables. Our supermarket shelves may be full, but our landscape is empty. Louisiana is a national leader in obesity, diabetes, heart disease, incarceration, violent crime, poverty—is that relative to our lack of fresh food? I think so.

…Food is the language of life. And, for me, bread its alphabet…

I care as little as you do, what they say about you. I care less about what you stand for, or who you stand with. Or where you come from. Or where you’re going. Because, despite all the compasses, you’re the barometer that brought us together.

Food is a human right, not a privilege. How do we uphold this self-evident truth socially and politically? Paradoxically, globalization has globalized our problems. I also think it has globalized their solutions. Same architecture, different furniture. This is an essay through my journal about my first trip to Italy, and first time at Slow Food’s Terra Madre: