The Food Desert Blooms

I have called Yap a “food desert," a place devoid of good food. This assessment is based on my experience as a white person who is not from here. I was wrong. It’s only a food desert for white people visiting or living in Yap. Tasting local food comes up high on the list of visitors’ “wants” but there are only poorly prepared imitations of Western food available in the restaurants. The locals believe that we won’t like their food and the hotels cater to Americans and Germans and Canadians. I am here to tell the locals and the hotel and restaurant owners that they are wrong. Very wrong.

This past February I was staying with my Australian friend, Cindy, waiting for my apartment to be available at the beginning of March. A large birthday was looming up ahead and Cindy and our other Aussie and American friends were planning to meet me for a low-key celebration at our usual watering hole. At 3:00pm on my birthday, Cindy got a phone call from Elizabeth, a local woman who works for the government with whom Cindy had become friendly. She announced that she would arrive at Cindy’s apartment around 6:00pm with the dinner she had promised to make. Surprised, as they had not confirmed the date, Cindy gulped and said, “Oh, ok. Yes. Right. I wasn’t sure if we were on. It happens to be the birthday today of one of my friends and we were going to meet up with a small group for dinner and drinks in a while. Would it be okay if I invited them to come, too? There will be six or seven of us.” The surprise was now turned on Elizabeth, but she graciously agreed. She had made enough for the two of them but, knowing the amount of food that the Yapese prepare for guests, we knew there would be enough for everyone.

Cindy and one of our other friends, Chris, went into overdrive and began racing around town vainly searching every shop for a bottle of champagne and buying wine when nothing sparkly was found. Phone calls and text messages went out and we all gathered at Cindy’s as Elizabeth drove up, her car laden with dinner.

Among the guests was an American gay couple from London who were staying at Oceania Hotel and were invited at the last minute by Jennifer, one of the owners of the hotel. It was Sunday and the hotel does not serve dinner on Sunday. One of the men was a food and travel writer. What could be a better gift (other than a bottle of champagne and a locally prepared dinner) than a food and travel writer for someone who is working with the Yap Visitors Bureau?

Land Crab with Lemons & Peppers

As Chris opened and poured the wine into whatever cups and plastic tumblers were on hand, Elizabeth set to business with Cindy carrying in platters of food, pulling plates from the cupboard and getting out serving spoons and silverware.  Banana leaves were unwrapped revealing their succulent contents that were then arranged artfully on platters garnished with clusters of small green and yellow lemons, lemon leaves and tiny hot red peppers. We positioned ourselves around the small table and the meal began. 

• A delicate soup of pale white coconut milk, fish and a thin strand of edible green ivy leaves.
• A platter of fried banana strips, slices of fried taro and breadfruit and balls of fresh, shredded coconut and taro.
• Land crabs steamed and chopped with onion and fresh lemon and stuffed back into the shell, a lemon leaf closing off the open side to prevent the cooked meat from spilling out.
• And for dessert, soft, young coconut meat shredded and frozen in small cups.

Banana Leaf Folded to Carry Bananas

 As we savored the flavors and aromas of the local ingredients, Elizabeth answered our questions about Yapese culture and cooking, described her garden, told us that the only two imported things in the meal were a tablespoon of sugar and an onion; everything else was from her garden and land.  It took her three hours to make the meal. She confided that she was nervous sharing her cooking with so many Westerners. “We don’t think you will like our cooking,” she said. “This is what we eat every day so we don’t think it’s anything special.” We assured her that she was wrong.

When the American soldiers arrived in Yap during World War II, they brought Spam and hardtack in their rucksacks. In the stores today, shelves are filled with canned corned beef, Spam, mackerel, oil-packed tuna, tomato sauce and baked beans. White rice is served with everything, the legacy of the Japanese who inhabited the island before the Americans ran them off.  Freezers at the grocery store offer frozen corn, burrito wrappers, turkey tails, chicken wings, hot dogs and ReddiWhip. Families raise pigs that have an extra layer of fat from being fed coconut and bananas. Introduced by the Spanish when they arrived in the 16^th century, a pig sells for up to $75 when it’s fat enough. But pork is not native to Yap.

Obesity and diabetes statistics are among the highest in the world. It’s easier to open a can of Spam than to catch and clean a fish. The belief that if it’s from the west, it must be good, has replaced fresh fish and locally-grown vegetables in the diet. Dr. Murukesan Krishnapillai, Researcher/Extension Specialist and head of the Cooperative Research and Extension (CRE) wing of the College of Micronesia, is working with farmers and food producers to grow and sell fresh vegetables and teaching them how to make compost to enrich the poor soil of this coral outcropping. A campaign is underway to encourage everyone to buy locally grown food. And the hospital is sponsoring initiatives to eat healthy along with walkathons to encourage exercise.

But opening a can is easier than tending a garden. And driving a used, imported Japanese car is easier than walking.

Even though we live on an island surrounded by a reef in the Pacific Ocean, fish are not always plentiful. And tuna is harvested by Japanese and Chinese vessels using long-line nets that sweep across several miles of this massive Pacific fishing ground gathering up more than just tuna. The Japanese launched commercial tuna fishing when they took over Yap from the Germans in the early 20th century. 

But it’s easier to open a can of Spam, fry it in a skillet over a fire of aged coconut shells and put it between two slices of sweetened white bread. Add a can or three of Bud Lite or Coke and some Pringles and it’s a meal.

With Cindy's help, Elizabeth has developed a business plan for Yap Fusion, a café serving local food. At first it will be lunch-only. Young men and women will be offered internships to learn the restaurant trade. When it becomes profitable, dinner will be added. We are encouraging her to realize her dream of the Yap Fusion Café. It will be successful from the day it opens, we assure her. Every ex-pat in Yap will eat there and visitors will flock to it. Her food is exquisite. The presentation is photo-perfect. Her choice of two buildings has been offered to her but they need to be renovated. She has equipment but needs more. And she needs money but that takes time. If anyone can succeed, Elizabeth can. And will. But it takes time, equipment and money. And she can’t afford to stop working right now.

Until then, my 70^th birthday celebration will be long remembered.