Entertainment · Books & Arts · 1 hr ago
Black Forager Alexis Nikole Nelson shares safe ways to find wild foods
Alexis Nikole Nelson teaches people to forage for wild food through her Black Forager social media accounts and educational work.
She shows how to identify plants and make foods such as acorn bread and cattail fritters.
Her guidance includes telling edible plants from dangerous lookalikes, a distinction she highlights in a series called “Poison or Snack.”
Nelson is also releasing her debut cookbook, “Happy Snacking, Don’t Die!”, which combines foraging advice with recipes using gathered ingredients.
She says foraging changed how she thought about food after she began sharing it online while struggling with an eating disorder.
Taking part in finding and preparing food helped her move beyond labeling food as good or bad.
Her cookbook includes recipes made with ingredients such as mushrooms, acorns and berries.
Alexis Nikole Nelson, known as the Black Forager, teaches people about foraging through social media and educational videos.
Her “Poison or Snack” series shows how to tell edible plants from lookalikes that can cause serious problems.
Nelson’s debut cookbook, “Happy Snacking, Don’t Die!”, combines foraging guidance with plant-based recipes.
She says foraging changed her relationship with food and helped her question the idea of “good” and “bad” foods.
- Who
- Alexis Nikole Nelson, known as the Black Forager, shares guidance about foraging.
- What
- She teaches people about finding wild foods and distinguishing edible plants from dangerous lookalikes.
- When
- The article was published on 2026-10-13.
- Where
- Nelson discusses foraging in a tour of an urban vacant lot; the location is not stated.
- Why
- She uses her platforms to teach people about foraging and the plants growing around them.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Nelson’s mother first showed her how to forage onion grass.
Nelson started her Instagram account while she was in the throes of an eating disorder.
NBC News published its story about Nelson and her approach to foraging.
- Name
- Alexis Nikole Nelson
- Social media name
- The Black Forager
- Series
- America’s favorite outdoor game show: Poison or Snack
- Debut cookbook
- Happy Snacking, Don’t Die!
- First foraged plant
- Onion grass, which Nelson’s mother showed her at age five
What people are saying
You can’t really think of a food that you’re gathering and then preparing with your own two hands as inherently bad. It just is.
As I started taking more and more responsibility for the food that was ending up on my plate, I started deconstructing this idea of good food versus bad food without even really realizing it.









