Baker(y)
Pan Fuerza is a tiny bread bakery in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is owned and operated by Diego Martin Pérez. The emphasis of the project is to share nutritious and delicious bread that is naturally leavened (a.k.a. sourdough), and loaded with freshly-milled whole grains.Diego is a science degree holding, music collecting, bike riding, coffee-loving hipster-nerd born and raised in Puerto Rico. His journey in bread baking began as a search for wheat products that were more nutritious and less inflammatory. He enjoys looking at spreadsheets, timers, thermometers, and riding his bike with his partner Erica, and sweet baby dog, Andouille.
Bread and Capitalism
Bread is food, and food is political.
The dream is for harm reduction throughout the supply line. That means the farmer, miller, baker, and bread eater all get their needs satisfied with as little oppression as possible in the process.
Bread is food and food is medicine.
Good food should be accessible to everyone who wants it, and especially to those who need it. Capitalism gives advantage to those with more financial resources in this step of acquisition. I find it barbaric that people with more money are going to have more access to bread that is nurturing and delicious, while those in the community who don't have as much, cannot also enjoy it.
It is because of this that payments are accepted on a sliding scale. You are invited to look within and decide what you are capable of paying, depending on your ability to support yourself and your immediate community.
If you have financial privilege and want to support your neighborhood baker, and your neighbor with less financial wealth, you can subsidize bread, which gets distributed throughout the New Orleans community fridges each week.
- If you are struggling to make ends meet, are food and/or work insecure, you can pay a bit less than the posted price.
- If you have steady work/income/housing, and also enjoy an entertainment budget/have discretionary expenses, you can pay around the average price-range.
- If you are a homeowner, are retired, have a retirement fund, and can contribute to your community outside of your immediate circle, you may consider yourself privileged, and are thus encouraged to pay a bit above the posted price.
My hope is that it all evens out, we all take care of each other, and that we all can enjoy good, nutritious food.
