What is American Food? - podcast cover

What is American Food?

Hannah Semler & Ali Berlowwhatisamericanfood.com
What is American Food? is a podcast exploring the many stories that make up our food system. Through storytelling, we reveal how our U.S. food system is designed - identifying where we can most impact hunger relief, climate change, and economic stability for families everywhere. Co-hosts Hannah Semler and Ali Berlow take a broad and deep dive into food systems, in a format that questions, informs, and discusses the nature of how we understand where our food comes from in the U.S. The first four episodes focuse on produce production in Mexico, developed over the last century to feed the U.S., and the food bank efforts that support millions of families who are food insecure in the U.S. We speak with business owners, nonprofits and funding institutions, as well as food systems practitioners in different sectors. Our focus is on lesser known stories about where the food we eat comes from and why, and the value of food for people and planet, in order to inform our future food systems design. What Is American Food? is grateful for the financial support from the Betsy and Jesse Fink Family Foundation.
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Episodes

Red Tomato and Shirley Sherrod: Supporting Black-Owned Farms

It can be hard to perceive the ways that systemic racism affects food you eat, whether it's the inequitable efforts behind getting a package of pecans to market, or noticing the farmers who aren't present at the local farmers' market. It's a sad irony, that racial discrimination, largely based on skin color, is not, in fact, observable. But if we look hard enough, with a better understanding, we will see and maybe we will act. In Season 2, Episode 2, of "What is American Food?" - co-hosted by Ha...

Sep 17, 202124 minEp. 5

A Mighty Hybrid Food Hub in the Northeast

For the next few episodes of “What Is American Food?” we’ll be turning our attention from the southwest to the northeast. https://redtomato.org/ (Red Tomato) is an innovative non-profit food hub based in Providence, Rhode Island. For 25 years they’ve been partnering with small to mid-sized farms to help with marketing, logistics, and distribution. We’ll hear Red Tomato’s origin story from Michael Rozyne, Angel Mendez, and Sue Futrell. Plus, 8th-generation orchardist John Lyman gives us practical...

Jun 29, 202132 minEp. 4

Bonus: A Conversation with Covilli Brand Organics

Covilli Brands Organic operates both a farm in Sonora, Mexico, and a marketing and distribution business out of Nogales, Arizona. What makes Covilli unique is that they are the only operation in North America that's 100% organic certified, and 100% fair trade certified. We hear from second generation farmer, Alex Madrigal, and his life and business partner, Iris Montano, as to their commitment to these approaches to both farming and the business side of things. We are grateful to have opened up ...

Mar 30, 202130 min

Rights-Based Food Banking: Moving Produce Rescue towards Justice Across Borders

Guests: Michael Rozyne, founder of https://redtomato.org/ (Red Tomato) and one of the three founding members of Equal Exchange; and Robert Ojeda, Chief Programs Director of the https://www.communityfoodbank.org/ (Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona )and a founding member of https://thehungergap.org/ (Closing the Hunger Gap). Co-Hosts: Hannah Semler and Ali Berlow use multi-dimensional storytelling to explore what food security means from both ends of our food supply chain. We take a look fro...

Feb 21, 202148 minEp. 3

Cross-Border Produce Rescue in Nogales, AZ

Episode 2: Cross-Border Produce Rescue in Nogales, AZ Hosts: Ali Berlow & Hannah Semler Guests: Dana Yost of The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona and Ida Posner of the Posner Foundation. The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona (CFB) has redistributed over 100 million pounds of produce over the last three years to 37 food banks in 33 States across the US. We speak with Community Food Bank COO, Dana Yost, about their produce rescue operation plans across the border in Mexico, and th...

Nov 16, 202025 minEp. 2

The 100-Year-Old Nogales Produce Sector

Episode 1: The 100-Year-Old Nogales Produce Sector Hosts: Ali Berlow & Hannah Semler Guests: James Martin of Wilson Produce LLC and Jamie Chamberlain of Chamberlain Distributing Inc. Six billion pounds of fresh produce enters into the U.S. through Nogales, Arizona each year destined for the U.S. market; this has been steadily growing over the past 100 years. With some digging, we soon find out that this very efficient food system, able to provide such enormous quantities of nutritious food, ...

Oct 10, 202034 minEp. 1
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