Reading Circle August 2026
LFC explores local ingredients, questions of regionality, authenticity, and recognition of an ingredient.
LFC explores local ingredients, questions of regionality, authenticity, and recognition of an ingredient.
To better understand India’s gig economy’s ground realities, the LFC community read and discussed an article on a Delhi-based gig worker, and unionising for basic labour rights.
What are the everyday realities behind headlines about climate-induced floods and droughts? What does the climate crisis actually mean for the people growing our food? The Locavore’s latest Beyond the Plate session featured speakers who have been closely working with farmers and sustainable food production—to explore how changing weather patterns and climate uncertainty are reshaping agricultural labour and livelihoods.
Delivery workers across multiple quick-commerce platforms assert that urban regions can no longer do without doorstep delivery. In such a context, why does gig work remain undignified? We’re bringing together three speakers—who have been closely working, organising, and advocating for the rights of gig workers—to highlight ground realities of this economy and discuss the demands of the many workers employed under this system.
Sociologist Prithiraj Borah’s guided walk in Kalyan Nagar involved sampling an array of indigenous Northeastern dishes in the neighbourhood, understanding their local contexts, and how such food can often run the risk of homogenisation.
Once home to nearly 1,00,000 indigenous varieties of rice, just a fraction dominate markets in India today. This online discussion explored the reasons behind their decline, unpacking how the pricing of commercial varieties does not account for social and environmental externalities tied to them, and offered practical ways to make native rice more accessible.
A Malayalam-language film revolving around a newly married woman’s struggles in a conservative, patriarchal household nudges us to think about the harsh realities that gender and labour spawn within domestic spaces.
Join British Bengali chef and writer Sohini Banerjee for an intimate morning walk through Jadubabur Bazaar, one of South Kolkata’s most storied neighbourhood markets.
Led by Sadaf Hussain, the walk traced how people who found refuge in Shaheen Bagh carried their food traditions with them and stitched together a new culinary landscape.
Led by Neil Khopkar, the walk explored the layered social and cultural history of Dadar through the foods that anchor everyday life in the locale.
In Pune, the walk explored the historic neighbourhoods of Narayan Peth and Sadashiv Peth, tracing how the city’s eating-out culture developed around fasting practices, community kitchens, iconic tea houses, and the rhythms of old Pune life.
In Bhubaneswar, the walk explored the Old Town, where temple traditions, seasonal rhythms, and centuries-old food practices shape what people eat every day.
Jaipur’s walk focused on the Old City inside the ‘Chaar Diwari’, where the street food culture is shaped by early planning by the royals and later, by migration patterns.
For our Local Food Club themed Love Your Leftovers in November, members gathered online for a workshop that unpacked the messy truth of kitchen waste, showing us how ridiculously simple it is to turn scraps, peels, and packaging into valuable resources.
As part of our Local Food Club engagements, we had Chef Arina Suchde conduct a workshop on how scraps can spark delicious new beginnings—turning peels, pods, and stems into soups, teas, and syrups.