Jamir M Williams

Food Tradition in the Low-Country

Growing up in the poor south my family couldn’t afford summer trips or visit a vacation home. But we spent our summers together and always had “good eatin”. Food was a primary way my family would express their love. In Gullah-Geechee fashion what you ate was determined by the seasons. Fall and winter called for food that would stretch because “ain’t nobody got time to be cooking everyday”. My grandma would often make her pots of chili or her neck bone stew to last a few days out the week. That food was hearty and was meant to “stick to your bones”. Summer months however was all about festivities and making food for entertainment. Adults would buy beers to accompany their low country seafood boils. The kids would rip and run down the street, stopping for a thrill to cool down. And we all joined together as family and friends for those special summer cookouts.