South
The Grits Belt is an unmarked but undeniable demarcation of American culinary cultures
The United States continues to be a house divided. The so-called Grits Belt lays it bare.
Political borders are well-defined, the line on the map matching the “welcome to” sign on the road.
On the other hand, cultural borders are undefined and unmarked — yet their existence is undeniable. The Grits Belt, largely a phenomenon in the eastern half of the country, is a perfect example.
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It does not appear on a map, AAA guide or smartphone app. Yet it’s as obvious as the delicious joy that comes with eating the creamy ground corn drenched in butter and love.
“The Grits Belt is a real geographic phenomenon,” Matthew Zook, a professor of geography at the University of Kentucky, told Fox News Digital.
Shrimp and Grits, made with Andouille Sausage Tomato Gravy and Crispy Garlic, at Benne On Eagle in Asheville, North Carolina. (Tim Robison for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“But like all cultures, it has porous and diffuse borders.”
The Grits Belt separates an America in which grits are at best a novelty from an America in which grits are gloriously abundant.
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Grits are rare in New England, the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest.
But during a drive south, New Yorkers will, without notice, enter the Grits Belt.
They will know only when they pull over at the country café and find grits on the menu with their sunny sides, shrimp or fried chicken.
University of Kentucky professor Matthew Zook, and other scholars, used social media geotags to map the Grits Belt — which they published on the website floatingsheep.org. (Courtesy Matthew Zook/Floatingsheep.org)
Road-trippers from South Carolina, conversely, will at some undetermined point leave the Grits Belt.
They will know only when they look at a menu and find that meals come with some sort of potatoes: home fries with their eggs, French fries with fried fish, mashed potatoes with chicken dinner.
“A relatively small number of coastal localities in the Low Country … have the strongest connection to grits.”
Zook and other scholars mapped the Grits Belt in 2014 on the website floatingsheep.org, by surveying geotagged posts on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“The South in general demonstrates a general preference for grits over the rest of the country,” they wrote.
Beef with grits served on the farm, Conowingo, Maryland. (Edwin Remsberg/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
But, they noted, it “is actually a relatively small number of coastal localities in the Low Country that have the strongest connection to grits through social media.”
The Southeast is the heart of the Grits Belt, said Zook.
But “it shifts as people travel and preferences change.”
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Erin Byers Murray of Nashville, Tennessee is the author of “Grits: A Cultural and Culinary Journey Through the South” and editor-in-chief of The Local Palate, a South Carolina magazine devoted to Southern food culture.
“I don’t know where the line is, but I think it’s pretty firmly in Virginia,” she said, while agreeing that the border of the Grits Belt moves with time, tastes and trends.
Frank Stitt, owner and executive chef of Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham, Alabama. He’s one of the high-profile chefs currently devoted to Southern cuisine and to elevating humble grits. (Maranie Staab/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
She is far more certain about the history of grits — and its gritty name.
Corn is native to the Western Hemisphere and its ground, softened form was a staple of the Native American diet.
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European settlers arriving in coastal Virginia in the 1630s, she notes, adopted it from indigenous culinary culture. The texture of the corn porridge was similar to the grist mashed from grains known to Europeans.
The name quickly evolved into grits.
The Breakfast Klub’s catfish and grits with sunny side up eggs and biskit. Photographed on Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in Houston. (Nick de la Torre/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
“This moment launched the official archive of grits: written accounts, and trackable moments of a now named dish that could be etched into historical records,” Murray writes in her book, “Grits.”
“Through that naming process, grits, the term and the dish, were then permanently tied to what was about to become the southeastern United States.”
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She listed several high-profile chefs devoted to Southern cuisine and to elevating humble grits: Sean Brock in Nashville, Frank Stitt in Birmingham, Alabama, and Dominic Lee in New Orleans, Louisiana.
“These are the folks who are doing grits fancy right now,” said Murray.
For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.
Augusta, GA
Louise Franklin Sheehan Obituary Jun 26, 2026 – Platt’s Funeral Home
Enjoy me while I’m here but when I’m gone don’t make a fuss! Just have a party and celebrate. And don’t say all that stuff about me in the newspaper! Everyone doesn’t need to know everything I’ve done and been! Say what’s most important to me. And she elaborated…
Louise Franklin Sheehan, 87, passed away peacefully at home on June 26. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband John Wilcox Sheehan. Her parents Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Franklin. Her sister Patricia Green. Her brother Peter Franklin.
Louise, in her words, was a devoted and loving wife, a wonderful mother and grandmother to her children and was happy to be the same and WAS through the years to many other children who wanted and/or needed the same. Her family was unquestionably her life. She was a dear friend to many. She never met a stranger. She helped many strangers in need, some who would become dear friends.
Louise is survived by her children Marie King (Sam), Patricia Beck (John), John Sheehan, Franklin Sheehan. Her grandchildren Aurelia Beck, Katie Schantz (Evan), Mary Darby Garren, Sadie Beck, Georgia Beck (Barry Sonders), Jack Beck (Anna Mae). Great grandchildren Magnolia Beck, Theodore Beck, Otis Beck and Maya Schantz. Also survived by her close in laws, sister in law Beth Sheehan and her brother in law and sister in law Joe and Nancy Sheehan as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
We would like to give the utmost thanks and love to her long term devoted care givers who have become family: Nichole Lane, Latonja Williams and Faina Blackwood. And to Tameka Blackwood who came as needed. Truly our angels on earth.
Louise, a life long devoted Saint Mary’s on the Hill parishioner, had a passion and long term devotion to supporting numerous Catholic Children missions. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the children’s charity of your choice in her honor if you desire.
A celebration of her life will be announced at a later date.
Louise was most known for her kindness. In her honor, go extra on kindness today and always to family, friends and strangers.
Arrangements are being provided by Platt’s Funeral Home, 721 Crawford Avenue, Augusta, GA 30904 (706) 733-3636. Please take a moment to share your condolences by signing the online guestbook at plattsfuneralhome.com.
Washington, D.C
DC will pay $50,000 to man detained while protesting guard patrol with ‘Star Wars’ song, record says
WASHINGTON (AP) — The District of Columbia has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a resident who accused police officers of illegally detaining him for following an Ohio National Guard patrol while playing Darth Vader’s theme song from “Star Wars” on his cellphone, according to a document released Monday.
The plaintiff, Sam O’Hara, sued the district, four Metropolitan Police Department officers and a guard member from Ohio over what he says was his act of protest against President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement surge in Washington, D.C.
A court filing on Thursday disclosed the settlement but didn’t specify any monetary terms. The amount is included in a copy of the settlement agreement that D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb’s office provided to The Associated Press.
The $50,000 settlement includes attorney’s fees and costs. O’Hara is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia. In an email on Friday, an ACLU spokesperson referred to the settlement’s financial terms as “a significant amount” that O’Hara “is pleased with” but said they weren’t disclosing the dollar figure to protect his privacy.
O’Hara, an artist who works in the hospitality industry, agreed to drop his claims against the district and the MPD officers within three business days of receiving the settlement payment. The settlement isn’t an admission of wrongdoing by the district, the agreement says.
O’Hara’s settlement with the district doesn’t resolve his related claims against an Ohio National Guard member, Sgt. Devon Beck, who has asked a judge to dismiss O’Hara’s claims against him.
O’Hara sued the district in October, claiming police officers violated his First Amendment rights to free speech and his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizures and excessive force.
O’Hara played “The Imperial March” theme from “Star Wars” on his phone as he followed several National Guard troops down a public street on Sept. 11, 2025. One of the troops summoned police officers, who stopped O’Hara and kept him handcuffed for 15 to 20 minutes before releasing him without charges, according to the lawsuit.
Trump’s ongoing deployment of guard members in Washington began last August after the Republican president issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in the nation’s capital. The surge inflamed tensions with residents of the heavily Democratic district. Hundreds of guard members remain deployed in the district nearly a year later, with no clear end in sight.
Austin, TX
July 4th: CapMetro to waive evening fares
AUSTIN, Texas – CapMetro will be suspending evening fares on July 4th to help Central Texans celebrate Independence Day.
What they’re saying:
Fares will be suspended beginning at 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 4.
CapMetro will also be operating a modified holiday schedule, including:
- Sunday-level bus service
- Saturday-level Rail service
- Regular Pickup service
- No UT Shuttle, Night Owl or Express service
For those looking to celebrate at Auditorium Shores for Austin’s annual Austin Symphony Orchestra July 4 Concert & Fireworks, CapMetro will have several bus routes available:
CapMetro says that after the concert and fireworks show, members of its team will be at the Vic Mathias Auditorium Shores Station, and South 1st and Riverside to help customers get home.
Riders can also use the Transit app to plan their trip home.
The Source: Information in this report comes from CapMetro
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