My Economy tells the story of the new economic normal through the eyes of people trying to make it, because we know the only numbers that really matter are the ones in your economy.

Today’s installment in our series is from Monica Pope, a chef and restaurateur from Houston, Texas. 

Since I was 17, I’ve had this single-minded goal to open a restaurant and change the way Houston eats. 

I think back in the day, we just weren’t connected. We didn’t feel like a community. Over the few years, there’s just been a big shift in this farm-to-table thing, which we did not have a label for 20-some-odd years ago. 

It’s all a piece, the local community, the local farmers finding each other, which took a long time. Before Harvey, I saw us come together. Everybody now believing we’ve got to go out to eat, we’ve got to keep buying local, we’ve got to go to our farmers market on Saturday and say “hi” to everybody and drop money in whatever table we can drop it in, something. 

You know, we care about each other and we’re a much tighter group. We know it’s hard. We all have to make our decisions about how we’re going to go on. 

I’m cooking tomorrow for 50 people that are under water. You know what I mean? And that’s what I do, I do it in a field, or I do it in somebody’s back yard, or home or I’m going to do it in Nottingham Forest under water. 

We all want to feel better doing something, and so I think I’d feel better doing what it is I do anyway, which is bring people together and let them have a meal and take a little respite. That’s how I participate.