The Philly Download Recipe Exchange

We’re pleased to share that for the rest of Black History Month, we’ll be running our first recipe exchange.

A traditional recipe exchange is an old school press tradition: Readers can request recipes, while the publication finds the right recipes to answer the inquiries through research, reaching out to local culinary experts or even welcoming readers to help other readers.

All this month, we’ve been diving back into Black cookbooks, especially cookbooks that have fallen under the radar, so that we have a cherished knowledge to pull from. Just some of that collection is pictured in this article. For us, a recipe exchange a way to connect with audiences over the food stores you want to see.

We’re taking this old school practice and blending it with some new school updates. Readers won’t just be able to request recipes, you’ll be able to submit recipes that deserve attention. While most recipe exchanges happen behind the scenes with a printed column being the only result, we’re packing our cookbooks to set up a recipe exchange station in person at the PA Regional Black Cultural Heritage Fair this Saturday, February 21, 2026 from 12 to 4 p.m. at the Parkway Central Library. Please join us at the fair! Bring your recipe questions, your food stories, and let’s celebrate together how Black foodways have always mattered.

Starting today, feel free to send your recipe requests and submission to info@thedownload.news. We're specifically welcoming recipes that speak to Black Philadelphia's culinary communities, past, present and future. If there's something you tasted at a party, church function or at the masjid years ago, but never found out how to make it, this recipe exchange is the service for you.

We’ll be documenting requests and submissions from the fair, where we will have recipe cards and pre-stamped envelopes in case visitors would like to mail their submissions later.

Happy Cooking!