Sara Armstrong grew up in a busy home full of kids, where cooking was a quick fix rather than a family event. When she was five years old, though, a Chinese chef and his family came to live with her. He taught her to make crane-shaped wontons and rose-shaped dumplings, and, in the process, showed her that food was not just a necessity but an art form as well. Later, a family friend from Oaxaca visited and made homemade tortillas, chile relleno, and mole; when Sara smelled cumin for the first time, her mind was made up: she was going to learn as much as she could about food from all around the world.

By the time she was old enough for college, Sara found that her childhood dream of becoming a doctor didn’t come with a matching passion for spending eight more years in school. She channeled her desire to help mend and serve others into a degree in healthcare administration — and slowly realized that her passion for food was another aspect of her desire to heal. The first time she visited the Pantry, she was hooked, and now she spends her time with us surrounded by people who share her love for caring and cooking for one another.