The Voices of Lefferts Community History Project is proud to present the second of two special issues of its journal on the topic of food as part of an initiative titled “Flatbush Eats: Food, Survival, and Celebration.”  Inspired by the New Deal era Federal Writers' Project (FWP), Flatbush Eats aims to document the relationship between food and community in Flatbush-PLG. In the late 1930s, federal writers set out to collect stories and photos for a book to be titled "America Eats." 

Continuing the international flavors from the previous issue of Voices of Lefferts, issue #8 features three writers with roots in Jamaica, Guyana, and Taiwan. We learn about the powers of aloe, the allure of the famed Ebinger's Bakery, memories of hunger, ackee and codfish, coming to the literal and metaphorical table during the pandemic, food and music, and fish heads! All of these essays reflect the ever-changing, collective history of Brooklyn. They trace the myriad ways food serves as a portal to the nuance, beauty, challenge, pain, and resilience that characterize our community, especially since the advent of COVID-19 in 2020. Also in this issue is our now regular art centerfold, featuring Laura Thorne's amazing drawings of beloved neighborhood buildings and other scenes and a special section of children's writing on the theme of food.