Volxküche

I first learned about the Volxküche when I was living in Vienna in 2007. Volk means "the people." The "x" is a tribute to the common people and to local communities, as opposed to a nationalistic concept of "The People". Küche is German for "kitchen", and therefore, the Volxküche (Vokü for short) is the people's kitchen. Voküs exist all over Germany and Austria and are similar U.S./English-language based organizations such as Food Not Bombs, Seeds of Peace, and Everybody's Kitchen. People know them best for serving hot, cheap (or free) vegetarian and vegan meals. The food brings people together to meet their neighbors, to network, and often to organize around political and environmental issues.

There is a weekly Vokü only ten minutes from where I'm living, so I went this past Saturday to check it out. It may have been the best decision I've made in Stuttgart yet. One of the toughest parts of moving to a new city is trying to find and/or build a new community. From the moment I walked in the door of the Vokü, I instantly felt at home. The venue itself was bright and welcoming and filled with people working to change their communities: from environmental educators teaching about the Stuttgart 21 train project (more details on that fiasco later) to an anti-drone peace collaborative to intercultural awareness groups and so much more. (For you Pittsburgh readers: imagine the Thomas Merton Center with a quarter of the number of project groups but with people just as passionate and as dedicated.)

I ate dinner with three people who I had never met before. The first person turned out to work for Facilities at the same place where I'm working and the second person was a doctoral student in Molecular Chemistry. I don't know what the third person did for school or work, but she loved to correct my German, which I always appreciate. When we finished eating, three of us (minus the chemist), walked up a snow-covered hill to tour a small, organic grocery store that the person who works for Facilities co-founded. The store is called "Plattsalat" and is opening as a co-op on March 2nd. It is rare to get a tour of a store before it actually opens, and that's exactly what I got. Right now, the store looks like a (nice) warehouse with a few long shelves in the center. Everything is painted and the space is almost ready; it just needs those shelves and some food for people to buy! I look forward to seeing the transformation over the next couple weeks. If you're in Stuttgart and want to come with me to the opening, leave me a comment and we'll plan together!

You never know what opportunities can present themselves when you take a leap and try something new. I'm so glad I found the Volxküche this weekend, and the people associated with it. I definitely plan to return soon.