Our Favorite Food Stories From The Week

Our favorite food stories from the week

This week our favorite food stories inspired us. There's the bakery that employs formerly incarcerated women, the story about frozen food that made us remember to call our grandmas and a decorated chef thanking his mentors. Read these nine stories for a weekly restoration of that can-do attitude.

A D.C.-area bakery is giving former inmates the chance to get a fresh start, reminding us all to show kindness and acceptance. It helps when such openness results in excellent baked goods, like granola and cookies.

Further west, refugees in Kansas are also getting a hand from local groups. The Huffington Post tells of New Roots for Refugees, a program that teaches refugees from the likes of Myanmar and Somalia both business and farming skills.

Jazz and alcohol are notoriously intertwined, causing Punch to dive into the sad yet interesting reasons why lady sings the blues, but couldn't resist the booze.

The Cut talks to Food52 cofounder Amanda Hesser about what it takes to become a leading presence in the food world. Her secret? She's "allergic to meetings."

There's craft beer, craft coffee and now craft dairy, the New York Times says. Small-batch milk producers are looking to bypass the large, commercial processors and place their creamy, grass-fed milk straight into consumers' hands.

Don't be one of those people who refuses help. Alon Shaya tells Fast Company about the mentors who helped drive his success, discussing why mentorship is crucial—and he has a James Beard Award to prove it.

Truffle hunters in Iraq will give you new appreciation for a fully stocked mushroom shelf in the market. Hidden landmines and the threat of ISIS militants mean seeking out truffles is life or death.

Yoga is fine and all, but Munchies says cooking is the best way to stay Zen. It teaches you to stop worrying and start cooking for joy—and it requires way less flexibility.

And you may even shed some tears reading Jennifer V. Cole's story for Southern Foodways Alliance about her late grandmother's corn that she found camped out in her freezer. What's in your freezer?