The Joy of Touch: Reconnecting with Food Through Our Senses

Touch isn't a garnish on the eating experience. It's the first language we ever learn. On this episode of Illuminating Being, my co-host Dr. Keith Somers, a pediatrician in Pittsburgh, and I traced the sense of touch from the womb all the way to the dinner table.

Keith reminded me that touch is likely the first sensory experience we have, from the warmth of amniotic fluid to skin-to-skin contact right after birth. As he put it, "Our skin is the largest organ of our body and one of the first to be activated in life." And yet as adults we barely register it. The dough under your fingers, the cool of fresh produce, the weight of a warm bowl of soup in your hands. Touch is everywhere, which is exactly why we stop noticing it.

Infants notice. They watch our every move, mimicking how we chew, how we prepare, how we react. So letting kids play with their food, squish it, smear it, wear some of it, isn't just okay. It's essential. As a mother of six I have wiped a lot of squashed berries off a lot of faces, and I've come to see the mess as the curriculum. And be honest: most of us still believe our mom makes the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That's not the ingredients. That's the memory of being held, fed, and known.

Touch extends past our own hands. Passing the salad tongs, bagging vegetables together at the farmers market, cooking side by side, these are acts of connection that convenience keeps stealing from us. Keith quoted Thich Nhat Hanh: "When we can slow down and really enjoy our food, our life takes on a much deeper quality." He also grounded the conversation in access. In Allegheny County, the 2-1-1 line connects people to food, clothing, and diapers, and food banks, churches, and grassroots groups around the country nourish spirit as much as body. Small steps ripple outward.

Three things to try this week. Bring real attention to one act of feeding or cooking, whether it's holding a baby during a bottle or chopping the onions. Let your kids touch and explore their food without a cleanup lecture. And take them to the farmers market to handle the produce and ask questions. Then, at your next meal, don't just taste. Feel the texture, the temperature, the weight. Nourishment isn't only what we eat. It's how we experience it.