Episode 12: Going Local

12/04/14 • 37 min

This week on Eating Matters, host Kim Kessler is recapping Thanksgiving with guest co-host Michael Melcher and guest Rebecca Morgan, the Executive Director of the Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship (CADE). The group CADE is a non-profit, agricultural development organization serving farmers, cooperatives and agricultural businesses regionally. Established in 1991, CADE has worked to connect producers of specialty farm products to markets. CADE also conducts research on agricultural opportunities and markets with the goal of building a thriving community-based local food system. Talking about foodshed development in the Catskills and surrounding area, Rebecca shines light on the state of local agriculture before commenting on yogurt being named the New York state food with Chobani being in the spotlight. However, she relays that this has not exactly translated to local farm profit. After the break, Kim asks Rebecca to expand on CADE and Lucky Dog Organic Farm recently announcing the Lucky Dog Local Food Hub being selected for funding through the Local Food Promotion Program of the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. Tune in to hear a plethora of information on keeping food sources local from someone in the know, guest Rebecca Morgan. This program was brought to you by The International Culinary Center.

Previous Episode

Episode 11: A Food Pantry in Brooklyn

This week on Eating Matters, host Kim Kessler welcomes Dr. Melony Samuels, the Executive Director of the Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger. Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger (BSCAH) is unique amongst the food pantries in Brooklyn as the first “supermarket-style” pantry. The pantry allows customers to select for themselves both fresh fruits and vegetables and nutritious food items from the pantry shelves. Taking a holistic approach to combating hunger, BSCAH also serves our clients through various social services including job training and education referrals, Food Stamps enrollment, cooking classes, summer camps, pre-HIV testing, diabetes and high blood pressure testing, and financial literacy classes. As the largest food pantry in Brooklyn, BSCAH offers a host of vital services to the over 11,000 clients that they serve a month. Kim asks Melony how she got her start and founded the BSCAH and how she has seen positive change for those helped by the BSCAH. After the break, Melony describes the layout of the food pantry, the process of receiving donations, and her thoughts on current food policy. This program was brought to you by Whole Foods Market.

“I had no plan to head up an organization, I just wanted to help but I found that there was a need.” [9:00]

“I wanted to make sure individuals could be served with dignity.” [17:00]

—Dr. Melony Samuels on Eating Matters

Next Episode

Episode 13: A Big Move in School Food

This week on Eating Matters, host Kim Kessler is discussing school food with guests Laura Benavidez of the Los Angeles Unified School District and Mark Izeman, of the NRDC New York Urban Program. Specifically inspired by the recent story of six of the largest US school districts having switched to antibiotic-free chicken (including Laura’s district), Laura explains that this is intended to protect children’s health. Amid concerns about the rise of bacteria that gain resistance to conventional medicines, Mark shares the specifics of the usage of such antibiotics in food across the country. Under the new standards, all chicken products served in the districts must come from birds that were never fed antibiotics. Kim goes on to talk to Laura and Mark about the big switch, which is expected to take several years as contracts with food vendors expire and meat producers respond to the new standards, among other details surrounding the program. After the break, Dennis Dimick, editor of the food series at National Geographic, joins Kim for a discussion of the series and food issues occurring in the past year. This program was brought to you by Cain Vineyard & Winery.

Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts, Classicstock/Corbis/National Geographic
A shared meal binds people together, family saying grace.
“Our major goal was food and where it comes from. It just doesn’t register in the public’s mind, and trying to get a connection between people in society and where food comes from and what it takes to make it happen and the impacts of it... that’s the under pinning of what you need to change policy.” [22:30]

—Dennis Dimick on Eating Matters