FROM A CAMPFIRE TO A COMMERCIAL KITCHEN 

It started with a campfire. This is what it has become.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE NUTRITION PROGRAM

Like every other part of the Heroes and Horses program, our nutrition program has evolved through great change since its inception. For the first three years of operations, all meals were cooked over a basic campfire with a wire rack and no running water in a bare field.  That’s right…a campfire. The program ran on donated food and volunteers who loved to cook their favorite “comfort meals” which often meant a Dutch oven filled with a savory combination of flavors followed by some kind of dessert. Eventually we transitioned into a real kitchen, aligning ourselves with the Whole30® approach and working closely with volunteers to implement a new way of eating in our program. 

In 2021, we set out to create our own backcountry freeze‑dried nutrition program rooted in the anti‑inflammatory approach that would become The Anti‑Inflammatory Farmacy. The old standbys in the backcountry like tortillas with peanut butter or ramen with jerky weren’t exactly living up to that standard. At basecamp we could serve nourishing anti-inflammatory meals, but we struggled to offer the same quality once students headed into the backcountry. That year was also our first season at the Double H Ranch. With almost no infrastructure, we turned a simple shop into a functioning kitchen.

Fast forward five years to the present day, and we still are preparing and cooking every meal out of this shop that we now call “the chow hall.” What started as a makeshift kitchen has become the beating heart of our food system. From this one room, we prepare more than 800 back‑country freeze‑dried meals each season, along with thousands of others that fuel the daily demands of the program. Every meal is made by hand, with intention, because the food we serve is part of the medicine.

And this year, thanks to the generosity of the MCS Foundation, this space took a major step forward. Their support allowed us to add a walk-in cooler and a freezer which serve as simple structures on the surface, but transformative in what they make possible.

This is the full circle of donor impact: a gift becomes infrastructure, that infrastructure creates capacity, capacity becomes nourishment, nourishment builds resilience, and resilience is what allows a veteran and his family to heal and reclaim their sovereignty.

OUR BODIES CARRY THE WISDOM

The philosophy behind our nutrition program focuses on the silent killer of humanity: inflammation. Inflammation plays a role in nearly every major illness, including diabetes, cancer, heart disease, neurodegenerative disease, and autoimmune disease which together account for 50%of deaths worldwide. Our approach reaches deeper than the science alone. It’s rooted in remembering what humans have always known and returning to the wisdom of the body. What we eat shapes how we think, feel, move, and heal. Food is medicine in the oldest sense of the word. It’s preventative care, connection, and a way of tending to the body as the only home we’re guaranteed. 

In a world defined by impermanence where the only thing certain is change and death, we’ve been entrusted with one home. Our bodies. Yet, we’ve forgotten how to hear what they’re trying to tell us and honor their needs. We’ve become so disconnected from them because we’ve built a way of living that pulls us outward towards consumption, convenience, industrial systems, and a pace of life that makes it incredibly difficult to hear.  

Our philosophy is a return to the simple truth that our bodies carry all the wisdom we need, and when we feed them well with ingredients that come from the earth, we honor the life we’ve been given. When we slow down enough to prepare a meal with intention, we practice reciprocity with the land, the animals, the farmers, and the hands that brought that food to us. In slowing down, we remember that there is no real separation between us and the earth. And this. This remembrance enlivens us from the inside out helping to reawaken the wisdom that lies dormant within.

And guess what? We don’t hide behind complicated recipes or trendy ingredients. Truly anyone can eat this way…which is why we’ve made this accessible to you through The Anti-Inflammatory Farmacy. We return to what those who have walked before us understood: meals are ceremony. They mark transitions, they gather people, and help remind us that nourishment is a relationship.

They say health is your wealth. We would agree. Investing in the body by remembering how to listen to it and respond to its needs is a reclamation of agency. And this looks different for each of us as there is no one size fits all approach.  There is simply a framework combined with experiences that help a person begin waking up to the truth of who they are. From there, the work becomes personal, lived, and entirely their own. Every aspect  of the Heroes and Horses program *including the food* is about restoring the dignity and sovereignty of the human experience. 

“With each incoming class, we watch participants shift from eating just to fill their stomachs to actually paying attention to what they’re putting in their bodies and why. There’s this moment where hunger stops being the only reason to grab a plate and they start realizing healthy food actually tastes good. Most importantly, they notice how much what and how they eat affects how they feel physically, which then supports them mentally and emotionally. It’s one of the most profoundly simple realizations that routinely hits participants and volunteers alike.”  

– Dana Burke