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Donna's Story


Northern Harvest: Twenty Michigan Women in Food and Farming
https://www. waynesupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/northern-harvest

DONNA FOLGARELLI

While Julia really is chapter one in Northern Harvest, Donna’s story is chapter 13, but I’m offering these mini-blogs as samplers, the way you would choose from a box of chocolate truffles, preferably from Grocer’s Daughter’s Chocolate, but that’s chapter 6.
When I listened to Governor Cuomo’s daily pandemic briefing last Sunday, the takeaway was his nostalgic evocation of Sunday dinner at his Italian American grandfather’s house.  His memories reminded me of Donna Folgarelli’s story about Sunday dinner at her Italian American grandmother’s house.  

“Every Sunday morning without any discussion in anyone’s life you went to church in the morning, and you were at grandmother’s house by ten thirty in the morning. That’s where the cooking began. We were in the basement and we were making gnocchi and pasta and learning how to roll the gnocchi and making the homemade sauce . . . I think no matter what business you are in it can’t be as right as sitting around the table with the family. That was the start of my food love.”

Donna’s parents ran a wholesale food business in Detroit.  When she moved up to Traverse City Donna missed real European Italian imported food.  Her parents swiftly filled this gap and the story takes off from there.  But as the images will show you, Donna also was a tennis champion and the head of the USTA for northern Michigan.  And she modeled for Saks Fifth Avenue and for a local store opened by a French family.  Quite a career! Quelle carrière!

To read more of Donna’s story and the stories of 19 other amazing women in the food industry you can order Northern Harvest directly from Wayne State University Press or online from any of the independent bookstores now closed on account of the pandemic, but taking online orders. Just give them my name and the title of the book, and enjoy meeting Donna and reading her story.








Folgarelli’s City Market and Wine Shop in Traverse City is helping the community in this pandemic  by preparing meals to go and curbside service. Check the website for daily specials: Folgarellis.net; phone for orders: 231-941-7651.

Comments

  1. Madeleine VedelApril 24, 2020 at 8:34 AM

    Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SwedeinFLApril 25, 2020 at 7:12 AM

    I can only say that Donna inspired me as an foreign exchange student to come back to this country and become a successful immigrant to live the American dream With 300 employees now . J lived a year with the best role models for the American dream and will forever be greatful for this. Your an extraordinary woman that I called Mom for a year and family forever .

    ReplyDelete

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