This past Sunday, Capital Memorial Church, a Seventh-day Advendist church in DC, hosted its annual International Vegetarian Food Fair. For the price of $10 per person (kids under 10 get in for free), you are welcome to unlimited samples of vegetarian cuisine prepared by the church’s congregants.

The Fair started out as a dinner party prepared by members of the congregation, but it was so hugely popular they had to implement second and third seatings. Finally, it became too large for a sit-down dinner and turned into the food fair that it is today.

To call this event overwhelming would be a gross understatement. There were five large rooms, each representing a different region and decorated accordingly, laden with tables groaning under the weight of home-cooked vegetarian goods served by their gracious chefs.

The cultures represented, in the order that my mom and I sampled them, were South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and North America.

I started off with a plan to try everything–as a vegetarian, where else would I have such an opportunity?–but by the third room we were so full that we had to downgrade to trying things we had never had before.

As we made our way through each room, it was interesting to note similarities between different cultures. For starters, the Caribbean food could have been very easily confused with Indian food-who knew? It was fascinating to see how even the most basic food staples are reinterpreted in different parts of the world, from flat, doughy naan to the porous, spongy bread served with Ethiopian food, meant to soak up sauces.

The church had two basic aims in holding this event. To quote the aforementioned flyer,

“Why do we hold this event?

• The positive feedback we receive from attendees who enjoy the atmosphere and diversity of our church familiy is joined together by our love for Jesus and for each other.
• The event provides us with the opportunity to share our home-cooked meals with members of our community to demonstrate that vegetarian and healthy food can be attractive and tasty.
• For those who want to make the transition to a meatless diet, we provide a wide selection of options and have information available to encourage and inform seekers of a new lifestyle.

Why a vegetarian food fair?

• Adventists in general, as a part of our faith, promote health of the total person–bodily, emotionally, spiritually and socially. A vegetarian lifestyle is just a tiny part of healthy living. Adventists in North America and around the world are one of the most studied populations on longevity.”

The flier references the US News and World Report on “Ten Health Habits That Will Help You Live to 100;” number 8 is “Live Like a Seventh-day Adventist.”

Judaism certainly believes in treating the body in a healthful way, and it was interesting to witness a faith that puts such a serious and spiritual emphasis on taking care of one’s body. There was even a “fun food” table for kids that allowed them to construct (under supervision) edible creations out of cut up fruit and vegetables using toothpicks. I thought this was a great way to bring a community together while promoting a healthy lifestyle. If your synagogue has done something to this effect, I would love to hear about it!