The City Where No One Goes To Bed Hungry
MIHS owner Said Isayed, in conversation with Betsy Ranum MA, RN, NBC-HWC
In honor of National Arab American Heritage Month, we are featuring Minnesota Integrative Health Studio owner Said Isayed in a conversation about his upbringing in the city of Al-Khalil (or Hebron), Palestine.
Describe the culture you grew up in. How is it similar or different to what you experience here in the United States, in Minnesota?
I would say…growing up in a culture where all you have is community to get things done, in an occupied country, you don't have control over a lot of things. You're not going to be able to depend on governments or an organization or whatever. You have to make it work within the community, where people can help each other without thinking only about themselves. So there's always putting community and peers ahead of your personal agenda.
And that's why there are a lot of the same businesses that have been around for generations in the same spot, the same neighborhood. They’re providing for basic needs without trying to become a national brand, or trying to just think about the profit.
So when you're in a bad times, like now, where everything is expensive, most of small businesses go to not making money on the essential stuff; you have different retail items that can make you money. When it's hard times, it's time to shift everything–lose some money, or not make money– to actually help everyone. To not only think about your own business.
For example, in my city (Al-Khalil [Hebron], Palestine) there is a place called Tikkiyya Ibrahimiyya, where they cook food all year round. And that place has been around for…they claim that it's been around since Abraham, and it's still going. It's food every day for free. Anyone can go, you know, rich or poor. People like it, it has a special taste, the way they've been cooking food for a long time. It's still going until today. And that's not something that is waiting for government grants. That's what empowers you to be part of the community and culture, and not just capitalism. Because you're not dependent on the stock market, big corporations, you know, through war or bad times.
That’s what the city is famous for. Everyone gets fed; at least no one has to ask for food. It’s a very old city. The story says that [Tikkiyya Ibrahimiyya] was established by Abraham to feed people ... It's still going. They say Sarah would go and stir, and that’s why it tastes so good. I don't know if that’s true, but that’s what people believe, or even if they don’t believe it, they like how it feels.
It’s just a normal thing that the community will just donate to keep it going, and stay around for so long. Here…it seems like giving in the U.S. makes people upset. In a lot of other cultures it gives people so much joy. My city is called “the city where no one goes to bed hungry” because of Tikkiyya. Everybody gives, even if you don't have a lot of money…you give a dollar or something.
It's part of the city. It has to be. It has to be, because people care about everything in the city and the culture. Where you live is not just your house, it doesn't stop there; it's everything. People haven't been trained to feel separate. No place is perfect, you know. But a lot of people understand themselves, and everything, to be part of a big picture.
How does your upbringing in your city, your culture, influence the way MN Integrative Health Studio operates?
I guess…I kinda didn’t like how you’re supposed to run business here. So I went based on what I know, how to do business from what I learned from my family…which is, your investment is in your family, community, your neighbors. More than trying to market or pay for advertisement…that doesn’t pay off. Maybe momentarily you’ll get the rush of it, but it’s not going to pay off.
The best way to a stable, sustainable business is to invest in real people. Not benefit an advertising agency or media company that doesn’t care, so their CEO can go vacation on the beach with your hard earned money. You try to be sustainable ...make less profit. As long as you can pay people fairly and make a living, you don’t have to be super rich.
You’re more rich in your community: with your reputation, the things you do, the history you leave behind, than the actual money you leave behind for people to fight over.
Why are you living here, going hard trying to make money and destroy your health trying to make extra money, for what? Get a fancier house? You still have to pay the mortgage, so you find someone else to exploit. What do you need in life? You choose the life you want. You could spend so much money on nonsense, or you could say “a smaller house for me and my family is good enough…and then I can help other people.”
What do you consider wealth?
Appreciating everything you have now…wealth is friends and community. Wealth is everything you do in life: teaching, spreading knowledge, giving people tools, investing in people. You help people, encourage them, then you can build a bigger community.
Also we should not underestimate that each individual person has choices: where they spend their money, what kind of products they buy. It’s not just about convenience, it’s about “if i spend my money on this product, what is this company going to do with my money? Are they going to take my money and lobby against me in the government? Or go spend it on war?” You enable the corporations to work against you. You’ve been taught here convenience above all, but they’re exploiting people.
It’s more about being as community. Community is the roots of everything, we’re on the bottom and everyone on top cannot survive without us. If we’re united, we can get a lot of stuff done…it’s on us to start thinking about the bigger picture. If you only think about yourself, that’s why we’re seeing what we’re seeing in this country. We’re not understanding the basics. We’re thinking that someone else up high is going to fix it all. That’s not how it works.
Wealth is students, the future. In other cultures, the community supports students, so when you have graduated you give back. You’ve been shown what needs to be done. Here, students end up being in so much debt, when they make it they fend for themselves.
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MIHS offers olive oil and za’atar from Al Saeed Herb and Spice, the shop that has been in Said’s family for five generations uninterrupted.
Talk about the connection between MIHS and your family’s business back home.
We’re not selling, we’re sharing. For me…growing up in a spice shop and knowing the quality of things, and then living here struggling to buy things for myself, because wherever I go things are not right (laughs), it doesn’t taste the same or smell the same. So actually I started getting stuff [sent from home] at first because I want it. I’m super picky.
But then it’s like, why not share it with people? It’s not something I’m trying to make a business out of, because it’s people sharing their olive oil with you. It’s not people trying to make money, and that’s why you’ll never find this in the market, anywhere. Because it’s from families who are willing to share a little bit of their olive oil with you for you to tell a story, and that’s something that’s going to be around all year long.
That’s the thing about olive oil, it takes a lot. The whole families go, they risk their lives, they might get shot, to get the olives and press it. But they’ve been doing this for thousands of years, they’re not going to give up now. It’s a fun time when the whole family goes out, [to] cook food, pick olives, fight, chat, sing, whatever. We’ve been doing this since we were kids, you know, grandparents…generation after generation, you just keep doing it.
Za’atar is a wild plant that grows [in Palestine]. The Israelis claim that they’re protecting the plant, so they prevent people from actually harvesting thyme, or za’atar, but people have been doing that for thousands of years and it never went extinct. It grows everywhere. So people risk their lives to go get it and make this spice blend.
Because in war times that’s the only thing people survive on, is olive oil and za’atar. Because it has enough nutrition in a small amount of food that can sustain you. So they say, “we will stay as long as we have these two items. We will stay on the land.”
Because they are what the land gives you. Everything that’s been made grows next to the olive trees: sumac, za'atar or Palestinian thyme, the spices, everything grows in the same area, so it’s self-sustainable.
Learn more about these offerings from Al-Khalil, Palestine below.
Palestinian Olive Oil
Said is proudly offering limited quantities of Palestinian Extra Virgin Olive Oil straight from his family's olive tree groves in Al-Khalil (Hebron), Palestine. The olives are hand-picked from trees that have been in his family for generations, with some of the olive trees as old as 600 years. The olive oil is simple, single origin, and extra virgin. Handpicked in Palestine, the olives are pressed at a community olive press, and shipped directly here.
500mL bottle: $35
Palestinian Za'atar
New in 2025, we are offering Za’atar spice blend from MIHS owner Said Isayed’s family business Alsaeed for Herb and Spice shop in Al-Khalil (Hebron), Palestine. Za’atar is one of the most popular spice blends in the Middle East. This spice blend has been used for centuries as not only a delicious addition to food, but also as an herbal medicine. Alsaeed for Herb and Spice is a multigenerational business that has been in Said’s family since the 1800s. They mix their own special blend of Za’atar, and we have packages for sale.
According to a 2023 study, the unique mixture of leaves, fruits, and seeds in Za’atar contains hundreds of antioxidant compounds, especially polyphenols, and fiber, with evidence suggesting it is supportive of cardiovascular and metabolic health, and may provide beneficial effects for gut health. (Khalili, Mohamed, et al., 2023).
7oz package: $13
Stop by or contact our front desk for more information or to purchase olive oil and za’atar.
To find out more about Minnesota Integrative Health Studio services and offerings, check out our website. You can book online here. Questions? Feel free to contact us, call (612.345.5648), at or stop by “the studio” on our corner of northeast Minneapolis.
