Lauren May was born and raised in Appalachia, and she’s now using her platform to bring positive attention to this region. The mastermind behind the popular food blog Must Love Herbs made a splash on social media by sharing delicious recipes that pay homage to her culture and heritage.
May started running a food blog in 2019, and she built an impressive following of over 100,000 people during that time. She started this journey with one goal in mind – to try and show rural Appalachian life from someone who has truly lived it.
She felt that the media representation of her region is often grossly misinformed, so she decided to change that using the most powerful tool at her disposal – food.
“Those stories, movies, and books do not paint an accurate depiction of who we are as an area. It is my goal to create a legacy through my work that will honor the generation of Appalachian gardeners and cooks who came before me,” she told Issuu.
Most of the foods on her blog are cooked with fresh ingredients from her 1,500-square-foot garden, where she grows everything from fruits and veggies to herbs. She usually tries to use seasonal produce when developing her recipes, and her garden is her main source of inspiration.
