Add Passion and Stir

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Give Us This Day Our Non-processed Daily Bread: One Mighty Mill’s Jon Olinto Feb 04, 2020

Show notes

Is wheat the key to a healthy food system? One Mighty Mill co-founder Jon Olinto talks to Billy Shore about the history of wheat and the impacts freshly-milled and sustainably-sourced wheat can have on our health, agricultural systems and communities. “Everybody wants healthy local food systems. The true cornerstone of that is going to center around mills because wheat and flour have infiltrated nearly everything we eat,” says Olinto.

Olinto wanted to ensure that community revitalization was part of One Mighty Mill’s mission. Located in downtown Lynn, MA, it serves as healthy community resource as well as an economic engine. “You know you can’t fix everything at once. But when you start, if you hardwire some of this impact that you know you want to have, it creates a pathway for you to stay true to why you started,” Olinto explains.

Join us for this fascinating conversation with an entrepreneur who is helping to make people, communities and agricultural systems healthier.

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No Kid Hungry Summit Invigorates Fight Against Childhood Hunger Jan 22, 2020

Show notes

On October 30, 2019, Share Our Strength held its first ever No Kid Hungry Leadership Summit. Activists, philanthropists, teachers, chefs and other thought leaders gathered to collaborate and share best practices in the fight to end childhood hunger. This special episode of Add Passion and Stir features some of the highlights from that day.

“It is just a symptom that children are hungry in this country… and the truth of the matter is that the real issue is poverty.” -George Jones, CEO of Bread for the City

“If you want to lead, you have to follow. You have to follow great principles.” - John Miller, President and CEO of Denny’s Corporation

“We have to find a way to connect this abundance of agriculture that we have with the children that need it the most. And that fuels the economy.” - Dorothy McAuliffe, Former first lady of Virginia

“As the mother of a school teacher, it is really important that we are there for our education system because that's the best way we can look to the future.” - Renee Grisham, philanthropist

“If I'm trying to teach a student who has food insecurity or who hasn't eaten, it's like trying to put a roof on a house with no foundation.” – Julie Pittman, Teacher in Rutherford County Schools, North Carolina

Listen in as some of the most dedicated champions in the fight against child hunger share what Billy Shore describes as their “constancy of purpose.”

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Marcus Samuelsson and Lauren Bush Lauren on Family, Food and Service Jan 08, 2020

Show notes

What inspires people to help others? Chef Marcus Samuelsson owner of Harlem's Red Rooster and FEED founder Lauren Bush Lauren come from different backgrounds but have both found a way to share their strength with others. Samuelsson and Bush Lauren discuss their individual paths to social impact work and how they use their networks for good. They discuss the role of privilege in one's life, as Lauren notes: “It’s literally like a ‘birth lottery’ – just because of where you are born, your next meal is not a guarantee.” And how acknowledging this privilege broadens and deepens once perspective and empathy, “The luxury of being adopted and the luxury of being African is that… you get windows into different worlds. [Ethiopia] is more than this quick sound bite or how people want to label us with false narratives,” says Samuelsson.

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India: Leading the Way in Global School Meals with Asha Gomez and Shridhar Venkat Dec 18, 2019

Show notes

How can we spread more happiness to children in this world? Akshaya Patra Foundation USA CEO Shridhar Venkat and The Third Space owner and chef Asha Gomez join hosts Debbie and Billy Shore to discuss the challenges and triumphs of alleviating childhood hunger around the world. “The world needs more compassion. If the rich people in the world looked on this problem with compassion, I feel you could solve this problem in one year,” claims Venkat. “People are innately good. People want to do good… a lot of times people don’t know how or have the resources necessary to be able to do good,” says Gomez.

Both guests talk about the personal fulfillment they experience through their work. “To truly enjoy work, work should be love made visible,” explains Gomez about her cooking and her work for international aid organization CARE. “At the end of the day, you are giving wings to their dreams,” declares Venkat about the 1.76M children who are fed through Akshaya Patra’s school meal programs.

Tune in for this heartfelt and illuminating conversation with two guests who are passionate about helping kids.

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Johanna Mendelson Forman and Noobtsaa Philip Vang on Conflict Cuisine Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

How does food both create conflict and provide a foundation for cultural integration and inclusion? American University professor and Stimson Center Distinguished Fellow Johanna Mendelson Forman and Foodhini founder Noobtsaa Philip Vang join hosts Debbie and Billy Shore to discuss gastrodiplomacy in the US and abroad. “Refugee food… is very popular and growing because this is the way you learn that the people who are villainized and made into statistics are not that – they are human beings,” says Forman, who teaches the wildly popular course in ‘Conflict Cuisine.’ Vang founded Foodhini to provide opportunities for refugees and immigrants to make a living through sharing their culture’s food. “All the different communities of diaspora, it’s all the same: they go to a new place, they don’t have anything, but one of the things they do still have is their food,” he says.

This ‘perfect pairing’ of guests has worked together for years: Forman acts as a business mentor for Vang and Vang serves as advisor on several of Forman’s class projects. “You hit the industry at a time when there was a greater consciousness about refugees and the power that food has, and you’ve done such an incredible job,” Forman tells Vang. Vang is appreciative of her support – both personal and professional. “[Foodhini] is how I see the world should be… creating a place where food and culture is not overlooked,” he believes.

Hear how food can create conflict but also how it can bring communities together on this intriguing episode of Add Passion and Stir.

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Dan Giusti and Angela Jerabek on Unlocking the Potential of Our Schools Nov 13, 2019

Show notes

How do we transform the way kids experience school? Former head chef Dan Giusti, the founder and CEO of Brigaid, and Angie Jerabek, the founder and executive director of the BARR Center, join hosts Debbie and Billy Shore to share their insights on driving culture change in our nation’s schools. “The personal interaction, whether it’s in a restaurant or in a school, is always going to be more important than the food itself,” insists Giusti. “You need to build relationships. You’ve got to have relationships from staff to student, student to student and staff to staff,” agrees Jerabek.

Both guests emphasize that the talent already exists within schools. “We’re hesitant to have outside people come in. We really want to train the current staff because then we know it’s going to become part of the culture,” explains Jerabek. “One thing that’s always stood out to me is that we’ve had high school kids literally say to the cafeteria staff ‘I didn’t even like this meal today, but we see that you’re really putting a lot of work in. Thank you,’” says Giusti.

Tune in for this in-depth conversation about two transformative organizations working to improve the school experience for our nation’s kids.

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Is There an American Cuisine? with Chef Ann Cashion and Historian Paul Freedman Oct 30, 2019

Show notes

Is there such a thing as American cuisine? James Beard Award-winning chef Ann Cashion and Yale history professor and author Paul Freedman have a thought-provoking discussion about the intersection of food, restaurants and American culture with and hosts Debbie and Billy Shore. Freedman’s newest book, American Cuisine and How It Got This Way, explores the evolution from regionalism to the standardization of food in the 20th century and how that trend is reversing. “Homogenization, standardization, industrial food… that’s the main trend in American history for the 20th century,” he explains. Cashion describes the “active educational process” she used to have with her customers about using seasonal and sustainable food on her menus. “People are more in tune with what it means these days, and are more supportive of it,” she says.

“Sylvia’s, the famous African American restaurant in Harlem, reflects not only the history of African American cuisine but the great migration of African Americans to the north,” explains Freedman, author of Ten Restaurants That Changed America. “I was in the kitchen of a Ramada Inn in Jackson, Mississippi, working with a total African American staff. It was such a great learning experience because so many of them just cooked by feel, no recipes,” recounts Cashion about one of her first restaurant jobs.

Listen to this engaging conversation about food, history and culture in America.

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The World Is Not What You Think: Milk Street’s Chris Kimball and WGBH’s Jon Abbott Oct 16, 2019

Show notes

What is the media’s responsibility to keep us informed? WGBH president and CEO Jon Abbott and culinary personality and Milk Street founder Christopher Kimball join host Billy Shore in Boston to discuss the intersection of education, media and culture. “This is not about a sound bite, this about having a conversation with people,” explains Abbott about the role of WGBH, a Boston public radio station and member station of National Public Radio and Public Radio International. Kimball agrees with the importance of the media message. “If you manage your media business strictly to make a profit, Julia Child and Mr. Rogers are not going to be on television,” he says.

Kimball, the creator of popular PBS programs America’s Test Kitchen and Milk Street Television, talks about exploring international food culture. “It’s always changing, that’s what’s exciting; the world isn’t what you thought,” he notes. “That’s what public media is really all about, revealing and exploring and giving people a sense that there’s always something to learn,” concludes Abbott.

Listen to this engaging conversation as three thought leaders discuss the pitfalls and possibilities of the information age.

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Why We Need Immigrants as Much as Immigrants Need Us, with Sasha Chanoff and Chickadee Chef John DaSilva Sep 25, 2019

Show notes

Where would we be without immigrants? RefugePoint founder and executive director Sasha Chanoff and Chickadee owner and executive chef John daSilva join host Billy Shore in Boston to discuss the hardships faced by immigrants and refugees and the promise and strength they bring to their new homes. “Refugees do revitalize cities - like Lewiston, Maine, or St. Louis, Missouri - that were on the decline and Somalis and Bosnians moved in and started businesses,” Chanoff explains. “Immigrant workers make up 30% of the workforce [at Chickadee]. If you take away 30% of the workforce in a workforce-depleted industry, the effects would be devastating,” observes daSilva.

Chanoff shares a harrowing tale about rescuing hundreds of massacre survivors in war-torn Congo early in his career. “I was struck viscerally by this idea that if I could play a very small role in helping somebody who had gone through a lot of trauma and terror, and often lost so much in their lives… that was the most important thing I could do,” he says. “These people working for me are just doing the best that they can, working as hard as they can. How could we turn our backs on them? We need them,” concludes daSilva.

Join in this engaging conversation between two guests who share their personal perspectives on how immigrants and refugees make us all stronger.

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Financial Inclusion: The Key to Overcoming Global Poverty Sep 11, 2019

Show notes

What’s keeping three billion people from climbing out of poverty? Accion President and CEO Michael Schlein and New York restaurateur Roni Mazumdar talk with Billy Shore about the importance of financial inclusion and creating an economic system that works for everyone. “It’s really hard to imagine anyone working their way out of poverty without some of the most basic financial tools—a safe place to save, access to credit, efficient payments, insurance,” says Schlein. Accion provided capital that helped young entrepreneur Mazumdar save his first business after hurricane Sandy devastated the region. “People don’t realize how important it is to survive that first year… Within two weeks, I had the money to continue to operate,” he recounts.

Schlein explains Accion’s market-based strategy for investing in financial technology companies and the people they ultimately help. “We’re a nonprofit, but we’re a big believer in harnessing the capital markets to change the world,” he explains. Mazumdar talks about his personal philanthropic initiative to alleviate poverty in India by improving access to education for girls. “There is a human being [in India] who is no different than I am. I happen to be in a position that is far more fortunate, so therefore, it’s imperative that I do something,” he says.

Listen to this engaging conversation about helping the billions of people who are invisible to the financial system that many of us take for granted.

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