The Atlanta Foodcast: A Food Podcast

For this week’s episode, we’re excited to bring you a rich conversation and Q&A between two paramount leaders in food sovereignty and farming: Leah Penniman and Matthew Raiford. This segment is a replay from our recent Eighth Annual Farm to School Summit.

Before we get started, a few Georgia Organics’ announcements! Mark your calendars! We’re celebrating farmers, virtually, on Thursday, May 27 for Georgia Organics’ Annual Awards! You can learn more at georgiaorganics.org/awards, this is a FREE member event celebrating all-star farmers in Georgia. And get ready to party for serviceberry season with Serviceberry Fest ATL on June 3! You’ll catch amazing chefs and beverage folks creating serviceberry-based bites and drinks...You’ll even catch ATL Foodcast guest host Quianah Upton with a Nourish Botanica pop-up! Get your tickets and details on Facebook, searching Serviceberry Fest ATL!

To kick off this week’s episode, we have a quick intro by Georgia Organics’ Farm to School Director Kimberly Della Donna. She provides much-deserved credit to the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning and the valuable sponsors who brought this 8th annual Summit to life, this time virtually! “The Summit is a celebration of spirit and ‘pandemic positives,’” says Della Donna.

Leah Penniman is the Co-Director and Farm Manager of Soul Fire Farm in Petersburg, NY and author of Farming While Black. Matthew Raiford, the CheFarmer, is the owner and farmer of Gilliard Farms in Brunswick and the author of Bress 'n' Nyam.

Their conversation centers around fostering a love of the earth and growing food in the young generation, the definition of food sovereignty, and beyond. They share a passion for preserving ancestral agricultural practices that honor the earth, regenerating the soil, and advocating for food sovereignty in their communities and beyond. Enjoy this thought-provoking and motivating conversation and Q&A.

To learn more about Georgia Organics’ Farm to School work visit farmtoschool.georgiaorganics.org/. To learn more about about Soul Fire Farm, visit soulfirefarm.org/. To learn more about Gilliard Farms, visit gilliard-farms.com/.

Life is insane. Things move fast on any given day, but we all know this is different. We are creatures of habit and our daily routines have been completely turned upside down. It’s uncomfortable. Unknown. Unfamiliar. Damn hard and filled with hardship — and Hardship hardly captures what is going on right now. It’s hard not to feel heartbroken. The restaurants and coffee shops and businesses you, I, we all love — we all just want them to be there when all of this is over. More than anything.

The reason this podcast as started in the first place was to offer a place for local businesses, restaurants, and people to share their stories. Well, now this is part of everyone’s story — much to anyone and everyone’s chagrin. Though, distress and defeat don’t have to be the only overwhelming thought on our minds. We’re a resilient bunch and I have faith that we’ll find a way through all of this. However, there is nothing wrong with asking for help.

This morning, I caught up with Neal Idnani from NaanStop. The guys have three locations and, much like everyone else, are adapting as fast as they can to keep their business going. Here’s our chat.