Key keywords: American patriotism, literary home-cooked meal, American soul, cultural identity, national narrative, contemporary American literature, grassroots cultural expression, cross-ethnic cultural memory First coined by prominent U.S. cultural critic Eliza Bennett in her recent op-ed for *The American Cultural Review*, the phrase “All American Patriotism is a literary home-cooked meal for the American soul” has exploded into mainstream discourse over the past two weeks, triggering widespread discussion among literary circles, educational institutions, and ordinary readers across the country. Bennett argued in her piece that for decades, American patriotism has been narrowly framed as partisan political slogans, grand military parades, and rigid historical narratives that often erase the lived experiences of marginalized groups, leaving many Americans feeling disconnected from the concept of national belonging. The “literary home-cooked meal” framework, she explained, re-centers patriotism in the unpolished, authentic stories of ordinary people documented in various forms of literature, from small-town personal memoirs and immigrant family oral histories to working-class poetry and Indigenous oral traditions. Each of these works acts as a familiar, nourishing “ingredient” in the collective meal, reflecting the diverse backgrounds that make up the U.S. population while tying readers to shared values of resilience, mutual care, and pursuit of a better life. The concept quickly resonated amid ongoing national divisions over how to define American identity, with thousands of social media users sharing their own favorite “ingredients” of the literary meal under the hashtag #LiteraryPatriotMeal. Many cited classic works like Harper Lee’s *To Kill a Mockingbird* and contemporary titles such as Tara Westover’s *Educated* as core parts of their personal understanding of patriotism, while marginalized creators highlighted underrepresented works including Latinx immigrant memoirs, Black southern storytelling collections, and Native American tribal narrative archives as essential components that have long been excluded from official national narratives. Last week, the National Endowment for the Humanities announced a new $2 million grant program to support local libraries and community centers in collecting and publishing grassroots literary works from underrepresented groups, noting that the “literary home-cooked meal” framework aligns with the agency’s goal to make national cultural resources accessible to all Americans. Multiple public universities have also added special seminar sessions focused on the theme to their fall 2024 literature curricula, aiming to help students explore the connection between personal storytelling and national identity.